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Environmental
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October 08, 2024
IRS Appeals Office's Easement Deals May Sap Independence
The IRS Independent Office of Appeals plans to settle certain conservation easement cases with similar terms offered by other IRS divisions, but these upcoming offers might be challenging for taxpayers to navigate and could undermine the office's independence from the rest of the agency.
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October 08, 2024
Avian Orgs Say FWS Unlawfully Tossed Bid To Import Parrots
Two exotic bird nonprofits told the Eleventh Circuit Tuesday that they should have the chance to make their case for importing two parrot species to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which the nonprofits say unlawfully refused to even consider the petitions.
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October 08, 2024
Pa. Developers Defend Efforts To Remediate Landslide Damage
A Western Pennsylvania property development company asked the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court on Tuesday to throw out a contempt order in connection with an agreement to provide remediation to a community it built that was devastated by a landslide, arguing it poured its personal and business funds into the project.
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October 08, 2024
Federal Regs Could Ground Airport Pollution Suit, Judge Hints
A Washington federal judge acknowledged Tuesday that federal regulations are an obstacle to Seattle residents' suit against airlines and the city's primary airport over alleged flight-path pollution, while suggesting more discovery could be needed before he can rule out their claims entirely.
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October 08, 2024
DC Judge Won't Rethink Striking Down USDA Wetland Rule
A Washington, D.C., federal judge on Tuesday refused to reconsider her decision to vacate a U.S. Department of Agriculture rule designed to stop the development of wetlands on farmland and struck down those regulations.
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October 08, 2024
Industry, Utilities Take Aim At EPA's Drinking Water PFAS Rule
Water utility associations and chemical industry players asked the D.C. Circuit to strike down the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's rule setting the first-ever limits for forever chemicals in the nation's drinking water.
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October 08, 2024
J&J Greenwashes '100% Plant-Based' Wipes, Suit Says
Johnson & Johnson customers hit the pharmaceutical giant with a putative false advertising class action in California federal court alleging its line of Aveeno makeup removing wipes are not 100% plant-based or environmentally friendly as the package claims.
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October 08, 2024
Honeywell To Spin Off Materials Biz Amid $9B Buying Spree
Skadden-advised Honeywell said Tuesday it will spin off its advanced materials business into an independent publicly traded company, the latest maneuver in a $25 billion strategic restructuring that the company said has included about $9 billion deployed for acquisitions in 2024.
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October 08, 2024
Manatt RE Leader Found Common Ground Without An Ego
Manatt Phelps & Phillips LLP has lost a Silicon Valley real estate partner with the death of Michael Polentz, and former colleagues are praising his ability to seamlessly break down complex ideas and his achievement of great success in the legal world — and doing so without an ego.
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October 08, 2024
Contractors Tell 5th Circ. They Belong In Border Wall Suit
Border wall construction firms urged the Fifth Circuit to insert them into Texas' suit challenging the Biden administration's border wall spending plan, saying they were barred from the case even though it threatens their financial rights under their old contracts.
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October 08, 2024
EPA Sets 10-Year Target For Lead Drinking-Water Pipe Fixes
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday finalized a rule that requires all lead drinking water pipes in the country to be replaced within the next 10 years to protect the public from the "significant and irreversible" health effects tied to exposure to lead in drinking water.
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October 07, 2024
Black La. Residents Urge Overhaul On Discriminatory Land Use
A Fifth Circuit judge asked attorneys for a Louisiana parish Monday whether they believe local government officials could continue racial discrimination for "eternity" because an allegedly discriminatory land-use plan was passed a decade ago without widespread concern.
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October 07, 2024
Factory Mutual Must Fully Cover Plant Explosions, Suit Says
Petrochemicals maker Indorama Ventures accused Factory Mutual Insurance Co. in Texas federal court Monday of wrongly refusing to fully cover roughly $100 million in losses stemming from a series of major explosions in 2019 near an Indorama plant in Texas.
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October 07, 2024
Texas Tells Panel It Had Three Months To Meet EPA Standards
A Fifth Circuit panel questioned whether the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's determination that the Lone Star State was violating air quality standards merited review yet, asking if the state could petition before the agency meted out sanctions for the alleged violations during oral arguments Monday.
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October 07, 2024
Valero, Port Cos. To Pay $2.4M To End Bay Area Pollution Suit
Valero and three port companies will pay nearly $2.4 million to resolve a nonprofit's lawsuit accusing the defendants of illegally dumping petroleum coke into the water without proper permits, in violation of the Clean Water Act, according to a consent decree signed by a California federal judge on Monday.
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October 07, 2024
No Firm Schedule For New LNG Rule, Feds Tell DC Circ.
The Biden administration has told the D.C. Circuit that it has no "firm schedule" for revising a rule allowing liquefied natural gas to be transported by rail, information the court asked for in litigation filed by environmental groups opposed to the regulations.
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October 07, 2024
Split DC Circ. Says FERC Can Require Power Plant Upgrade
Federal energy regulators were right to require NextEra Energy to upgrade its New Hampshire nuclear power plant's circuit breaker to accommodate a new transmission line being developed by Avangrid Inc., a split D.C. Circuit panel has ruled.
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October 07, 2024
3M Facing PFAS Headwinds In Vermont, NJ And Ohio Cases
3M Co., which is facing forever chemical lawsuits across the country, is dealing with pushback from Vermont, which is fighting 3M's effort to take its state court case into federal court, and from plaintiffs in Ohio and New Jersey, who have kept their litigation out of a sprawling multidistrict litigation.
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October 07, 2024
Treasury Proposes Exempting Tribal Cos. From Income Tax
Tribal-owned businesses would not be subject to federal income tax under proposed regulations released Monday by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, a move that would also allow such entities to be eligible to receive direct cash payments in lieu of clean energy tax credits.
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October 07, 2024
Stormwater Fees Not Illegal Tax, Mich. Appellate Panel Finds
Stormwater drainage charges in Ann Arbor constitute a lawful fee and not an illegal tax, the Michigan Appeals Court ruled, saying the charges did not require voter approval as demanded under the state constitution for increased local tax rates.
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October 07, 2024
11th Circ. Balks At Ex-Braves' $47M Easement Case
Former Atlanta Braves players John Smoltz and Ryan Klesko, challenging a U.S. Tax Court ruling that slashed the value of a conservation easement deduction by 90%, won't have their appeal heard by the Eleventh Circuit after the court said Monday the duo had jumped the gun on challenging the decision before it was made final.
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October 07, 2024
State Courts Splitting Over Future Of Climate Change Suits
Recent decisions on whether climate change suits brought by state and local governments against fossil fuel companies can go forward are exposing splits between state courts over whether they can impose liability for pollution that originates beyond their borders, legal experts say.
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October 07, 2024
Chevron Nets $6.5B In Sale Of Canadian Oil Assets
Chevron Canada Ltd. said Monday it has agreed to sell off its stakes in the Athabasca Oil Sands Project and the Duvernay shale to Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. for $6.5 billion.
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October 07, 2024
Justices Seek SG Input On Red State Bid To End Climate Torts
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday asked the U.S. Solicitor General to weigh in on a request by red states to nix climate change torts brought by blue state governments against fossil fuel companies, signaling its growing interest in the future of such cases.
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October 07, 2024
Justices Won't Referee Fight Over FERC Power Rule Deadlock
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review a rule change allowing the country's largest regional grid operator to stop requiring state-backed renewable energy sources to meet a certain price floor in electricity capacity auctions following a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission stalemate on its approval.
Expert Analysis
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Series
Playing Chess Makes Me A Better Lawyer
There are many ways that chess skills translate directly into lawyer skills, but for me, the bigger career lessons go beyond the direct parallels — playing chess has shown me the value of seeing gradual improvement in and focusing deep concentration on a nonwork endeavor, says attorney Steven Fink.
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State Procurement Could Be Key For Calif. Offshore Wind
A recent ruling from the California Public Utilities Commission highlights how the state's centralized electricity procurement mechanism could play a critical role in the development of long lead-time resources — in particular, offshore wind — by providing market assurance to developers and reducing utilities' procurement risks, say attorneys at Wilson Sonsini.
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Litigation Inspiration: Attys Can Be Heroic Like Olympians
Although litigation won’t earn anyone an Olympic medal in Paris this summer, it can be worthy of the same lasting honor if attorneys exercise focused restraint — seeking both their clients’ interests and those of the court — instead of merely pursuing every advantage short of sanctionable conduct, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.
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A Deep Dive Into The Evolving World Of ESG Ratings
Attorneys at Mintz discuss the salience of environmental, social and governance ratings in corporate circles in recent years, and consider certain methodologies underlying their calculation for professionals, as well as issues concerning the ESG ratings and products themselves.
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Updated Federal Rules Can Improve Product Liability MDLs
The recent amendment of a federal evidence rule regarding expert testimony and the proposal of a civil rule on managing early discovery in multidistrict legislation hold great promise for promoting the uniform and efficient processes that high-stakes product liability cases particularly need, say Alan Klein and William Heaston at Duane Morris.
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Lean Into The 'Great Restoration' To Retain Legal Talent
As the “great resignation,” in which employees voluntarily left their jobs in droves, has largely dissipated, legal employers should now work toward the idea of a “great restoration,” adopting strategies to effectively hire, onboard and retain top legal talent, says Molly McGrath at Hiring & Empowering Solutions.
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Adopting 7 Principles May Improve Voluntary Carbon Markets
The Biden administration's recently issued joint policy statement on improving the integrity of voluntary carbon markets may help companies using carbon credits to offset their emissions withstand scrutiny by government agencies, the public and investors, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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EU Directive Significantly Strengthens Enviro Protection
The recently revised European Union directive on environmental protection significantly strengthens its prior legislation and broadens the scope of environmental crime through the introduction of offenses for conduct resulting in severe damage, say Katharina Humphrey and Julian Reichert at Gibson Dunn.
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How Act 126 Will Jump-Start Lithium Production In Louisiana
Louisiana's recent passage of Act 126, which helps create a legal and regulatory framework for lithium brine production and direct lithium extraction in the state, should help bolster the U.S. supply of this key mineral, and contribute to increased energy independence for the nation, say Marjorie McKeithen and Justin Marocco at Jones Walker.
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Legal Battles Show Brands' Dilemma In Luxury Resale Trend
Recent litigation, such as Chanel's pending case against The RealReal, underscores the intricate balance luxury brands must strike between protecting their trademarks and embracing the burgeoning secondhand market that values sustainability, says Prachi Ajmera at Michelman & Robinson.
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Why Jurors Balk At 'I Don't Recall' — And How To Respond
Jurors often react negatively to a witness who responds “I don’t remember” because they tend to hold erroneous beliefs about the nature of human memory, but attorneys can adopt a few strategies to mitigate the impact of these biases, say Steve Wood and Ava Hernández at Courtroom Sciences.
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How Federal And State Microfiber Pollution Policy Is Evolving
Growing efforts to address synthetic microfiber pollution may create compliance and litigation issues for businesses in the textile and apparel industries, so companies should track developing federal and state legislation and regulation in this space, and should consider associated greenwashing risks, says Arie Feltman-Frank at Jenner & Block.
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An Insurance Coverage Checklist For PFAS Defendants
With PFAS liability exposures attracting increased media attention, now is a good time for companies that could be exposed to liability related to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances to review existing and past insurance policies, and consider taking proactive steps to maximize their likelihood of coverage, say attorneys at Nossaman.
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Series
Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Atop the list of ways fishing makes me a better lawyer is the relief it offers from the chronic stress of a demanding caseload, but it has also improved my listening skills and patience, and has served as an exceptional setting for building earnest relationships, says Steven DeGeorge at Robinson Bradshaw.
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10 Tips To Build Trust With Your Witness During Trial Prep
Preparing a witness for deposition or trial requires more than just legal skills — lawyers must also work to cultivate trust with the witness, using strategies ranging from wearing a hat when conducting mock cross-examination to offering them a ride to court before they testify, say Faye Paul Teller and Sara McDermott at Munger Tolles.