Environmental

  • October 10, 2024

    Norfolk Southern Says Tank Car Cos. Should Help Pay $600M Deal

    Norfolk Southern and tank car companies sparred in Ohio federal court over key questions of liability related to the February 2023 East Palestine derailment and toxic chemical spill, as the rail giant seeks to offload at least some damages, including a recent $600 million settlement to affected residents and businesses.

  • October 10, 2024

    3M Can't Put Pause On Conn. Firefighters' PFAS Suit

    A Connecticut federal judge on Thursday declined to let 3M Co. and other companies put a stay on a proposed class action by firefighters alleging their turnout gear contains so-called forever chemicals while the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation decides whether to roll it into a South Carolina MDL.

  • October 10, 2024

    Ohio Seeks To Halt Depositions In FirstEnergy Investor Suit

    The state of Ohio wants to halt certain depositions and other discovery in a securities suit stemming from the FirstEnergy bribery scandal, saying it could interfere with criminal charges against two of the utility company's former executives, according to an intervenor motion filed Thursday.

  • October 10, 2024

    3M, Other Cos. Hit With PFAS Contamination Class Action

    Nantucket, Massachusetts, residents seek to hold the 3M Co., The Chemours Co. and other companies liable for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances that allegedly contaminated their properties, their drinking water and the residents themselves.

  • October 10, 2024

    8th Circ. Won't Block EPA Power Plant Effluent Rule

    The Eighth Circuit rejected on Thursday efforts by nearly two dozen states, utility companies and trade groups to block the implementation of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule setting new wastewater limitations for coal-fired power plants.

  • October 10, 2024

    Too Early To Decide Indemnification In Flood Row, BNSF Says

    Railway giant BNSF told a California federal court that it's too early for the court to decide whether two Travelers units have a duty to indemnify BNSF in a lawsuit alleging that a track relocation project BNSF undertook caused significant flooding, noting the case is still pending.

  • October 10, 2024

    Partnership Challenges Denial Of $42M Easement Deduction

    The Internal Revenue Service failed to justify rejecting a Florida partnership's charitable contribution deduction for donating a $42 million conservation easement to a land conservancy, the partnership told the U.S. Tax Court.

  • October 10, 2024

    Georgia Judge Rejects Extension Of Voter Registration Again

    A Georgia federal judge has shut the door on a last-ditch bid to extend Georgia's voter registration deadline thanks to disruptions from Hurricane Helene, saying Thursday that the civil rights groups pushing for the change couldn't show their members or voters had faced significant disenfranchisement.

  • October 10, 2024

    $273M Hurricane Relief Bill Is 'First Step,' NC Gov. Says

    North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper on Thursday signed a $273 million measure to fund relief and recovery efforts after Hurricane Helene tore through the state in September, causing devastating floods and widespread power outages and killing at least 91 people in 20 counties.

  • October 10, 2024

    Housing Nonprofit Hits NY Town With Disability Bias Suit

    A housing nonprofit has claimed in New York federal court that local officials stopped the construction of an affordable housing project in the Hamptons because a lot of the units would go to people with mental health disabilities and military veterans, who would receive supportive services.

  • October 09, 2024

    Alaskan Tribes Ask Court To Reconsider Gold Mine Ruling

    A group of Alaskan tribes is urging a federal district court to reconsider its ruling that two U.S. government agencies did not take a realistic look at the potential spill risks associated with a large open-pit gold mine, arguing that it erred in its determination concerning the project's barge traffic.

  • October 09, 2024

    Ga. Judge Won't Extend Voter Registration After Helene

    Would-be voters in the Peach State won't get an extra week to register for the November 2024 election — at least not yet — after a Georgia federal judge said Wednesday she hadn't seen sufficient support for the claim that registrations were significantly hampered by the destruction caused by Hurricane Helene.

  • October 09, 2024

    Wash. Justices To Weigh $185M PCB Case Against Monsanto

    The Washington State Supreme Court will consider school teachers' bid to reinstate a $185 million jury verdict against Monsanto in a chemical poisoning tort, marking the first in a series of cases tied to the same school to make it all the way to the state's high court.

  • October 09, 2024

    SF Leaders Not Backing City's High Court Case Against EPA

    With oral arguments just a week away, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday passed a resolution urging the city attorney to drop a U.S. Supreme Court case against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over a Clean Water Act permit.

  • October 09, 2024

    Texas Electric Co-Op Says EPA Mercury Rule Must Be Nixed

    A Texas electricity co-operative on Tuesday backed a D.C. Circuit challenge to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule curbing mercury and other toxic metal emissions at some coal-fired power plants, saying the agency fudged data to saddle the co-op with unachievable emissions reduction requirements.

  • October 09, 2024

    How Built Environment Interacts With Climate Risk

    As worsening disasters result in skyrocketing property insurance rates, CoreLogic data shows that construction decisions can cause significant variations in climate risk, even in neighboring counties.

  • October 09, 2024

    Ag Groups Defend Farm Emissions Reporting Exemption

    Agricultural industry groups called on a Washington, D.C., federal judge to toss green groups' claims alleging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency overstepped its authority in exempting factory farms from pollution-reporting requirements, arguing the agency merely implemented Congress' command.

  • October 09, 2024

    Louisiana Judge Reopens EPA's Enforcement Against Denka

    A Louisiana federal judge on Tuesday reopened the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's lawsuit alleging some of a neoprene manufacturer's air emissions pose a health threat to the surrounding community.

  • October 09, 2024

    EPA Will Clean Up 7 Abandoned Mines On Navajo Land

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it has committed to cleaning up seven abandoned uranium mine sites via projects aimed at addressing more than 1 million cubic yards of contaminated soil and restoring approximately 260 acres of Navajo Nation land.

  • October 09, 2024

    Ex-NC Govs. Back Cooper In Power Struggle With Lawmakers

    Five former governors of North Carolina have thrown their support behind the current Democratic governor as he wrestles with Republican lawmakers over appointment powers, telling the state appeals court that the legislature has trampled on "bedrock constitutional principle" by seeking to divest the governor of his ability to select members of executive branch agencies.

  • October 09, 2024

    47 Members Of Congress Urge EPA To Ban Paraquat

    Democratic Rep. Greg Casar from Texas led a coalition of 46 members of Congress in urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to ban the use of a herbicide known as Paraquat, calling it a toxic substance "linked to life-threatening diseases and grave impacts on the environment."

  • October 08, 2024

    NY Discharge Law Usurps Feds, Nuclear Plant Owner Says

    The owner of the shuttered Indian Point nuclear power plant on Monday urged a federal judge to invalidate a New York state law banning discharges of radioactive material into the Hudson River, saying it's clearly preempted by federal nuclear safety authority and violates the Constitution's supremacy clause.

  • October 08, 2024

    Texas Looks To Sink Suit Challenging Anti-ESG Law

    Texas officials have asked a federal court to toss claims brought against them over a law restricting state investments with financial firms and businesses that want to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels, arguing they have sovereign immunity and the law doesn't violate the First Amendment.

  • October 08, 2024

    Jackson, Kagan Target Loper Bright In Ghost Gun Case

    U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was uncharacteristically quiet during initial arguments Tuesday over the federal government's authority to regulate ghost guns. While her colleagues debated whether kits of unassembled parts qualify as firearms, she waited patiently to post a different question: Can courts now toss agency interpretations they don't like?

  • October 08, 2024

    GOP, Trade Groups Urge 6th Circ. To Void Highway GHG Rule

    Republican lawmakers and construction trade groups are urging the Sixth Circuit to snuff out for good a U.S. Department of Transportation rule requiring states to set targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from federally funded highway projects.

Expert Analysis

  • How Multifamily Property Owners Can Plan For The EV Future

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    As the electric vehicle market expands, and federal and state incentives and mandates intended to promote EV use come into effect, owners and operators of multifamily residential properties should be prepared to meet the growing demand for onsite EV charging infrastructure, say Sydney Tucker and Andreas Wokutch at Frost Brown.

  • New Law May Move Calif. Toward Fashion Sustainability

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    California’s recently signed Responsible Textile Recovery Act seeks to increase sustainability innovation in the fashion industry, but it could also create compliance hurdles for brands, especially smaller fashion houses that do not have ample resources, say Warren Koshofer and Maggie Franz at Michelman & Robinson.

  • Conn. Court Split May Lead To Vertical Forum Shopping

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    As shown by a recent ruling in State v. Exxon Mobil, Connecticut state and federal courts are split on personal jurisdiction, and until the Connecticut Supreme Court steps in, parties may be incentivized to forum shop, causing foreign entities to endure costly litigation and uncertain liability, says Matthew Gibbons at Shipman & Goodwin.

  • Mental Health First Aid: A Brief Primer For Attorneys

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    Amid a growing body of research finding that attorneys face higher rates of mental illness than the general population, firms should consider setting up mental health first aid training programs to help lawyers assess mental health challenges in their colleagues and intervene with compassion, say psychologists Shawn Healy and Tracey Meyers.

  • Enviro Policy Trends That Will Continue Beyond The Election

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    Come October in a presidential election year, the policy world feels like a winner-take-all scenario, with the outcome of the vote determining how or even whether we are regulated — but there are several key ongoing trends that will continue to drive environmental regulation regardless of the election results, say J. Michael Showalter and Samuel Rasche at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Series

    Collecting Art Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The therapeutic aspects of appreciating and collecting art improve my legal practice by enhancing my observation skills, empathy, creativity and cultural awareness, says attorney Michael McCready.

  • Using Primacy And Recency Effects In Opening Statements

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    By understanding and strategically employing the primacy and recency effects in opening statements, attorneys can significantly enhance their persuasive impact, ensuring that their narrative is both compelling and memorable from the outset, says Bill Kanasky at Courtroom Sciences.

  • Opinion

    Supreme Court Must Halt For-Profit Climate Tort Proliferation

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    If the U.S. Supreme Court does not seize the opportunity presented by Honolulu v. Sunoco to reassert federal authority over interstate pollution regulation, the resulting frenzy of profit-driven environmental mass torts against energy companies will stunt American competitiveness and muddle climate policy, says Gale Norton at Liberty Energy.

  • Litigation Inspiration: Honoring Your Learned Profession

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    About 30,000 people who took the bar exam in July will learn they passed this fall, marking a fitting time for all attorneys to remember that they are members in a specialty club of learned professionals — and the more they can keep this in mind, the more benefits they will see, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • Opinion

    AI May Limit Key Learning Opportunities For Young Attorneys

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    The thing that’s so powerful about artificial intelligence is also what’s most scary about it — its ability to detect patterns may curtail young attorneys’ chance to practice the lower-level work of managing cases, preventing them from ever honing the pattern recognition skills that undergird creative lawyering, says Sarah Murray at Trialcraft.

  • A Class Action Trend Tests Limit Of Courts' Equity Powers

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    A troubling trend has developed in federal class action litigation as some counsel and judges attempt to push injunctive relief classes under Rule 23(b)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure beyond the traditional limits of federal courts' equitable powers, say attorneys at Jones Day.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: September Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy identifies practice tips from four recent class certification rulings involving denial of Medicare reimbursements, automobile insurance disputes, veterans' rights and automobile defects.

  • 6 Tips For Trying Cases Away From Home

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    A truly national litigation practice, by definition, often requires trying cases in jurisdictions across the country, which presents unique challenges that require methodical preparation and coordination both within the trial team and externally, say Edward Bennett and Suzanne Salgado at Williams & Connolly.

  • A Blueprint For Structuring An Effective Plaintiff Case Story

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    The number and size of nuclear verdicts continue to rise, in part because plaintiffs attorneys have become more adept at crafting compelling trial stories — and an analysis of these success stories reveals a 10-part framework for structuring an effective case narrative, says Jonathan Ross at Decision Analysis.

  • Series

    Round-Canopy Parachuting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Similar to the practice of law, jumping from an in-flight airplane with nothing but training and a few yards of parachute silk is a demanding and stressful endeavor, and the experience has bolstered my legal practice by enhancing my focus, teamwork skills and sense of perspective, says Thomas Salerno at Stinson.

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