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Environmental
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November 22, 2024
Chemical Co.'s PFAS Coverage Suit In SC Gets Tossed
A South Carolina federal court tossed BASF Corp.'s suit seeking coverage for thousands of underlying allegations that the chemical manufacturer's firefighting foam caused pollution and injury, finding Friday that a parallel suit in New Jersey state court favors abstention.
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November 22, 2024
New Congress Could Undo Rules On Drinking Water, Methane
A consumer advocacy group is warning that Republicans may target a slew of recent and pending regulatory actions when they take control in Washington next year, saying they could make use of the Congressional Review Act to unwind new rules on competition, lead in drinking water, data protection and more.
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November 22, 2024
Hunting Groups Sue Colo. Wildlife Regulators Over Editorial
Pro-hunting groups have said Colorado Parks and Wildlife commissioners violated the state's Open Meetings Law when they jointly authored a newspaper editorial promoting a measure to ban mountain lion, lynx and bobcat hunting, which voters rejected in November.
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November 22, 2024
Manhattan Project Waste Suit Sent Back To Mich. State Court
A Michigan federal judge on Friday remanded back to state court a lawsuit from communities trying to prevent a local landfill company from accepting decades-old radioactive waste from the development of the first atomic bomb, finding a state judge can answer the unsubstantial federal question raised in the case.
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November 22, 2024
Bulgaria Looks To Nix $61M Renewable Energy Award Suit
Bulgaria is urging a D.C. federal court to nix litigation filed by Maltese investor ACF Renewable Energy Ltd. to enforce a €61 million ($63.54 million) arbitral award it won following a dispute over a nixed tariff program, arguing that it never agreed to arbitrate with ACF.
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November 22, 2024
Feds Slam Utah High Court Case Over Fed. Land Ownership
The federal government called on the Supreme Court to reject Utah's attempt to file a complaint accusing it of unconstitutionally hoarding and profiting from public lands in the state, saying the justices should decline to exercise original jurisdiction over the matter.
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November 22, 2024
Port Operators Can't Join Suit Over Delaware River Project
A Pennsylvania federal judge has ruled two terminal companies waited too long to join in on a case that resulted in the revocation of the approval for a new port project on the Delaware River, reasoning that the companies' claim of having a stake in the outcome of the case was untimely.
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November 22, 2024
Mich. Justices Want To Know If 3M Water Challenge Is Moot
The Michigan Supreme Court ordered additional briefing Friday in 3M Co.'s challenge to regulations on PFAS in drinking water to address whether subsequent regulatory changes made 3M's lawsuit moot, echoing a focal point of last week's oral arguments in the case.
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November 22, 2024
Insurer Owes $4.5M For Water Damage, Wash. HOA Says
A Washington state homeowners association told a federal court that its insurer owes over $4.5 million in coverage to repair hidden water damage at its condominium community, arguing that no exclusions, conditions or limitations bar coverage under its policy.
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November 22, 2024
PFAS Foam MDL Attys Score $95.8M For Tyco, BASF Deals
A South Carolina federal judge awarded nearly $96 million in combined fees and costs Friday to lead counsel representing public water systems for reaching a $316.5 million deal with BASF Corp. and $750 million with Tyco Fire Products LP over forever chemicals, lauding them as "some of the most qualified mass tort litigators in America."
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November 22, 2024
Bondi Vowed Trump Payback. Ex-Colleagues Aren't Worried.
U.S. attorney general nominee Pam Bondi is an outspoken ally of President-elect Donald Trump and vowed during the campaign that his "prosecutors will be prosecuted," but people who've worked with her say she's well qualified to serve as the nation's top cop and downplayed concerns that she would politicize the U.S. Department of Justice.
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November 22, 2024
LA Power Dept. Inks $60M Settlement Over Valley Gas Leak
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has reached a $59.9 million settlement over allegations that it hid a dangerous natural gas leak from San Fernando Valley residents for over three years, according to the plaintiffs' counsel.
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November 22, 2024
EPA, Pa. Nab $5.3M In Penalties Against Oil, Gas Producers
The U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday they have secured two settlements amounting to $5.3 million with XTO Energy Inc. and Hilcorp Energy Company, resolving alleged Clean Air Act and Pennsylvania Air Pollution Control Act violations.
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November 22, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen cash-strapped Thurrock Borough Council bring a £40 million ($50 million) negligence claim against 23 other local authorities over its solar investments from a not-for-profit local government body, AstraZeneca sue a fire safety company following a blaze at its Cambridge headquarters last year, and a director who was convicted in 2016 for corporate manslaughter face action by Manolete Partners. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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November 22, 2024
Ex-Invenergy Atty Joins McDermott's Energy Team In DC
McDermott Will & Emery LLP announced Friday its Washington, D.C., office has brought on an in-house renewable energy and taxation expert with more than a decade of experience to further help the firm's clients utilize energy transition tax credits available in the Inflation Reduction Act.
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November 21, 2024
Greens Sue Army Corps Over San Jacinto River Barge Project
A Texas environmental group sued the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Texas federal court Thursday, claiming the Corps rubber-stamped a barge mooring project in the San Jacinto River that runs a serious risk of releasing dangerous contaminants and poisoning the waterway.
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November 21, 2024
FirstEnergy Investors Slam Ex-Execs' Info 'Bogeyman' Story
FirstEnergy shareholders have accused two former executives of the energy company of exploiting confidentiality rules by seeking to shield documents relevant to their suit over a stock plummet that followed a massive bribery scheme, telling an Ohio federal judge he should reject the executives' "informational bogeyman" story.
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November 21, 2024
FERC Heeds States' Worries With Grid Planning Policy Rewrite
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Thursday approved changes to its sweeping revision of its regional transmission planning policies, and a heftier role for states in the planning process was enough to assuage the concerns of a commissioner who dissented from the original rule.
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November 21, 2024
DOD Needs To Do More To Fix Military Housing, OIG Says
The U.S. Department of Defense failed to properly identify and fix health, safety and environmental hazards in military housing, according to a Thursday report from the DOD's Office of Inspector General.
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November 21, 2024
Judge Suggests 1st Circ. Should Hear Lobster Tracking Case
A federal judge in Maine on Thursday tossed a case by lobster fishermen suing to keep their fishing routes secret from state observation, but the judge encouraged the lobstermen to appeal the ruling so that a federal appeals court can wade into this "significant" Fourth Amendment dispute.
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November 21, 2024
Fuel Economy Regs Are Unlawful Path To EVs, 6th Circ. Told
Republican-led states and fuel industry groups have told the Sixth Circuit that the U.S. Department of Transportation overstepped with new vehicle fuel-economy standards that amount to an unlawful electric vehicles mandate, while environmental groups say the standards don't go far enough to meaningfully combat climate change.
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November 21, 2024
DC Circ. Judges Disagree On Standing In Drilling Permit Suit
The judges of the D.C. Circuit stepped on each other's toes Thursday during oral arguments over a challenge to the approvals of thousands of drilling permits in New Mexico and Wyoming, appearing to be at odds over whether the environmental groups' stance on standing had legs.
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November 21, 2024
EPA Beats Calif. Suit Over Pesticide-Coated Seed Exemption
A California federal judge threw out public safety groups' lawsuit alleging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provided pesticide-coated crop seeds an illegal loophole from regulation, finding the agency made a fair and considered judgment when it said the seeds are exempted from registration.
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November 21, 2024
Trump Selects Ex-Fla. AG Pam Bondi As New AG Pick
President-elect Donald Trump announced Thursday that he has selected Pam Bondi, a former attorney general of Florida, as his new pick for U.S. attorney general, just hours after former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration amid allegations of sexual misconduct and drug use.
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November 21, 2024
EPA Announces National Strategy To Tackle Plastic Pollution
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday unveiled its national strategy outlining how government agencies, businesses, nonprofits and communities can prevent plastic pollution.
Expert Analysis
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How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts
As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.
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Series
Boxing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Boxing has influenced my legal work by enabling me to confidently hone the skills I've learned from the sport, like the ability to remain calm under pressure, evaluate an opponent's weaknesses and recognize when to seize an important opportunity, says Kirsten Soto at Clyde & Co.
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What NYC's Green Fast Track Means For Affordable Housing
New York City's Green Fast Track for Housing initiative, which went into effect last month, aims to speed up the environmental review process for modest residential developments and could potentially pave the way for similar initiatives in other cities, say Vivien Krieger and Rachel Scall at Cozen O'Connor.
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Opinion
Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron
The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.
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3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron
The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.
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After Chevron
Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference standard in June, this Expert Analysis series has featured attorneys discussing the potential impact across 37 different rulemaking and litigation areas.
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Series
After Chevron: Expect Few Changes In ITC Rulemaking
The U.S. Supreme Court's opinion overruling the Chevron doctrine will have less impact on the U.S. International Trade Commission than other agencies administering trade statutes, given that the commission exercises its congressionally granted authority in a manner that allows for consistent decision making at both agency and judicial levels, say attorneys at Polsinelli.
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Opinion
Reform NEPA To Speed Mining Permits, Clean Energy Shift
It is essential to balance responsible regulatory oversight with permit approvals for mining projects that are needed for the transition to renewable energy — and with the National Environmental Policy Act being one of the leading causes of permit delays, reform is urgently needed, say Ana Maria Gutierrez and Michael Miller at Womble Bond.
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Opinion
Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem
The legal industry is engaged in a critical conversation about lawyers' mental health, but current attorney well-being programs primarily focus on helping lawyers cope with the stress of excessive workloads, instead of examining whether this work culture is even fundamentally compatible with lawyer well-being, says Jonathan Baum at Avenir Guild.
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Calif. Long-Tail Ruling Continues Policyholder-Friendly Trend
The California Supreme Court's recent ruling in Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser Cement & Gypsum, rejecting horizontal policy exhaustion, was the latest in a string of its decisions involving insurance coverage for continuous or progressive injury claims that favor policyholders, say Billie Mandelbaum and David Goodwin at Covington.
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A Case Study For Calif. Cities In Water Utility Takeovers
With growing water scarcity and drier weather looming, some local governments in California have sought to acquire investor-owned water utilities by eminent domain — but the 2016 case of Claremont v. Golden State Water is a reminder that such municipalization attempts must meet certain statutory requirements, say attorneys at Nossaman.
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Series
NY Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2
The second quarter of 2024 saw less enforcement activity in the realm of New York financial services, but brought substantial regulatory and legislative developments, including state regulators' guidance on cybersecurity compliance and customer service processes for virtual currency entities, say James Vivenzio and Andrew Lucas at Perkins Coie.
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Series
Skiing And Surfing Make Me A Better Lawyer
The skills I’ve learned while riding waves in the ocean and slopes in the mountains have translated to my legal career — developing strong mentor relationships, remaining calm in difficult situations, and being prepared and able to move to a backup plan when needed, says Brian Claassen at Knobbe Martens.
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Tracking Implementation Of IRA Programs As Election Nears
As the Biden administration races to cement key regulations implementing the Inflation Reduction Act, a number of the law's programs and incentives are at risk of delay or repeal if Republicans retake control of Congress, the White House or both — so stakeholders should closely watch ongoing IRA implementation and guidance, say attorneys at Squire Patton.
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Unpacking The Circuit Split Over A Federal Atty Fee Rule
Federal circuit courts that have addressed Rule 41(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are split as to whether attorney fees are included as part of the costs of a previously dismissed action, so practitioners aiming to recover or avoid fees should tailor arguments to the appropriate court, says Joseph Myles and Lionel Lavenue at Finnegan.