Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Environmental
-
July 15, 2024
Fed. Circ. Upholds Some HVAC Patent Claims In Google Fight
The Federal Circuit has affirmed a Patent Trial and Appeal Board decision that handed a partial win to EcoFactor Inc. in a patent challenge brought by Google LLC.
-
July 15, 2024
9th Circ. Won't Review Toss Of Youths' Climate Case
The Ninth Circuit has rejected youth plaintiffs' request for an en banc rehearing of a May ruling that dismissed their climate change suit against the U.S. government.
-
July 15, 2024
4th Circ. Rejects Couple's $5.1M Easement Deduction
The Fourth Circuit rejected Monday a married couple's bid to revive a claimed $5.1 million conservation easement deduction, saying it represented a "remarkable" attempt to inflate the value of a 41-acre property that was worth just $652,000 the year before they donated it.
-
July 15, 2024
NHTSA Fuel Economy Suits Consolidated In 6th Circ.
Eight separate legal challenges to the U.S. Department of Transportation's newly finalized fuel economy standards for passenger cars and light trucks have been consolidated in the Sixth Circuit, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation said Friday.
-
July 15, 2024
Ariz. Rancher Says Monument Order A 'Regulatory Regime'
A sixth-generation Arizona rancher is fighting a bid by the Biden administration to dismiss litigation challenging a presidential proclamation that designated an Indigenous site in the Grand Canyon region a national monument, arguing the order subjects him to a "regulatory regime" he must comply with to enhance his property.
-
July 15, 2024
Lululemon's Sustainability Ads Are 'Greenwashing,' Suit Says
Lululemon's global "greenwashing" marketing campaign has lied to consumers that its products and businesses are eco-friendly while the athleisure company has continued to have a negative impact on the environment, a lawsuit in a Florida federal court said.
-
July 15, 2024
Okla. Tribes Agree To Share Hunting, Fishing Rights
Oklahoma's Five Civilized Tribes say an agreement that will allow its members to use their tribal hunting and fishing licenses to access one another's territories strengthens their sovereign rights and gives them greater autonomy over the care and preservation of the land for future generations.
-
July 15, 2024
Auto Defect Suits Taxing Mich. Court Resources, Judge Says
A Michigan federal judge indicated Monday he would approve a $150 million settlement to end class claims that General Motors sold vehicles with defective batteries that make cars overheat and cause fires, as he noted major auto defects cases have been straining the court's resources.
-
July 15, 2024
Carl Sagan Co. Drops TM Fight Over Astronomer's Name
A company managing the works of famed astronomer Carl Sagan has agreed to drop claims that a Michigan software company is using Sagan's name without permission to benefit from his reputation, according to a stipulation of dismissal that said the parties reached a settlement.
-
July 15, 2024
Neoprene Maker Tells 5th Circ. Louisiana Can Stall EPA Rule
A Louisiana neoprene manufacturer is asking the Fifth Circuit to affirm a state regulator's decision to grant the company a two-year extension to comply with a final chemical emissions rule issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
-
July 15, 2024
6th Circ. Unsure If Philips Glass Pollution Suit Time-Barred
A Sixth Circuit panel considered Monday whether there was any reason to throw out a jury's verdict clearing Philips Electronics of releasing harmful pollution in a Kentucky town, with the judges seemingly leaning different ways on whether the jury properly found the property owners missed their window to sue.
-
July 15, 2024
Military Families Fight Gov't Bid To Slash Fuel Leak Payout
Military family members and civilians have fired back at the federal government's attempt to dramatically undercut their request for damages following a bellwether bench trial in litigation stemming from fuel leaks tied to a now-shuttered Navy storage facility at Pearl Harbor.
-
July 15, 2024
Waste Site Ruling Must Be Undone, Nuke Group Tells Justices
The main trade group for the U.S. nuclear industry on Friday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a Fifth Circuit decision that barred the federal government from licensing a temporary nuclear waste storage facility in Texas, saying the erroneous ruling threatens to upend the industry.
-
July 15, 2024
Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court
Chancery Court news was full of fees and settlements last week, with three multimillion-dollar deals getting a court OK, and a daylong discussion over a potentially multibillion-dollar fee award for attorneys who got Tesla CEO Elon Musk's astronomical pay package thrown out. The court also banged the gavel in cases involving e-payment venture SwervePay and managed care company Centene Corp., and heard arguments from software company SAP SE and biotech Renmatix Inc.
-
July 15, 2024
Rising Star: Kelley Drye's Lana Rowenko
Lana Rowenko of Kelley Drye & Warren LLP represents more than a dozen states and territories in multidistrict litigation over per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in South Carolina and was part of the team that earned $48 million in settlements for the state of New Mexico following the 2015 Gold King Mine spill, earning her a spot among the environmental law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
-
July 15, 2024
US Wins $15B Keystone Cancellation Case
The U.S. has won the $15 billion arbitration case brought by TC Energy over the cancellation of the Keystone pipeline, with an international tribunal dismissing the claims on jurisdictional grounds.
-
July 12, 2024
Law360 Names 2024's Top Attorneys Under 40
Law360 is pleased to announce the Rising Stars of 2024, our list of 158 attorneys under 40 whose legal accomplishments belie their age.
-
July 12, 2024
Rising Star: Beveridge & Diamond's Megan Morgan
Megan Morgan of Beveridge & Diamond PC helped strike down more than $200 million in permit fees for California's Chiquita Canyon landfill, guided Fortune 100 tech companies on corporate sustainability and responsible sourcing, and defended BNSF Railway against a potentially $4 trillion penalty, earning her a spot among the environmental law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
-
July 12, 2024
Loper Bright Is Shaking Up Dozens Of Regulatory Fights
In the two weeks since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Chevron deference, the landmark decision has emerged as a live issue in dozens of administrative challenges, with federal courts already pausing agency regulations expanding LGBTQ+ rights in education and healthcare and with a wave of parties seeking to use the new decision to win their cases.
-
July 12, 2024
5 Firms Steer Chinese EV Co.'s $1B SPAC Merger
Chinese electric vehicle maker Huture Ltd. plans to go public at an estimated $1 billion value through a merger with special purpose acquisition company Aquaron Acquisition Corp., both parties announced Friday, in a deal steered by five law firms.
-
July 12, 2024
DC Circ. Upholds FCC Approval Of SpaceX Satellite Plan
A D.C. Circuit panel Friday affirmed a Federal Communications Commission license authorizing SpaceX to deploy thousands of its Starlink satellites, rejecting challenges from satellite TV provider Dish Network LLC and advocacy group DarkSky International.
-
July 12, 2024
Tire Cos. Can't Pause Fish-Harming Chemical Suit
A California federal judge rejected a group of tire companies' efforts to stay an Endangered Species Act suit accusing the companies of killing fish on the West Coast with their use of a rubber additive, saying that waiting for a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rulemaking on the additive "makes little sense."
-
July 12, 2024
Lawmakers Unveil $1B Water Infrastructure Bill For Ariz. Tribe
A bipartisan group of Arizona federal lawmakers has introduced legislation in both houses of Congress to ratify and provide just over $1 billion in funding to resolve the Yavapai-Apache Nation's water rights claims and bring additional supplies to the Verde Valley.
-
July 12, 2024
Tribes, Enviro Orgs. Say Mining Exec's Retirement Moots Suit
Native American tribes and environmental groups have dropped their suit asking Montana's environmental regulator to curtail Hecla Mining Co.'s operations, telling a federal court that their complaint was based on the leadership of now-retired CEO Phillips Baker Jr.
-
July 12, 2024
Feds Ignoring Idle Offshore Oil Well Risks, Green Group Says
The federal government is looking the other way as owners of retired offshore oil and gas drilling infrastructure fail to properly shut down the facilities and blow deadlines, environmentalists said in a new lawsuit.
Expert Analysis
-
Legal Considerations For Circular Economy Strategies
As circular economy goals — generating revenue at multiple points in a product's life cycle — become nearly ubiquitous in corporate sustainability practices, companies should reassess existing strategies by focusing on government incentives, regulations, and reporting and disclosure requirements, say Rachel Saltzman and Erin Grisby at Hunton.
-
SEC's Final Climate Disclosure Rules: What Cos. Must Know
While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's scaled-back final rules requiring public companies to disclose certain climate-related information still face challenges in court, companies should begin preparing now to comply with the rules, say Celia Soehner and Erin Martin at Morgan Lewis.
-
Caremark 2.0 Lends Shareholders Agency Against Polluters
The Caremark doctrine has been liberalized by recent Delaware court decisions into what some have termed a 2.0 version, making derivative cases against corporations far more plausible and invigorating oversight duty on environmental risks like toxic spills and air pollution, say Joshua Margolin and Sean Goldman-Hunt at Selendy Gay.
-
Preempting Bottled Water Microplastics Fraud Claims
Food products like bottled water are increasingly likely to be targets of consumer fraud complaints due to alleged microplastics contamination — but depending on the labeling or advertising at issue, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act can provide a powerful preemption defense, say Tariq Naeem and Brenda Sweet at Tucker Ellis.
-
Wildfire Challenges For Utility Investors: Regs And Financing
For investors in public utilities, wildfire liability considerations include not only regulatory complexities, but also bankruptcy claims resolution, financing judgments and settlements, and how to leverage organizational structures to maximize investment protections, say David Botter and Lisa Schweitzer at Cleary.
-
Litigation Inspiration: A Source Of Untapped Fulfillment
As increasing numbers of attorneys struggle with stress and mental health issues, business litigators can find protection against burnout by remembering their important role in society — because fulfillment in one’s work isn’t just reserved for public interest lawyers, say Bennett Rawicki and Peter Bigelow at Hilgers Graben.
-
Wildfire Challenges For Utility Investors: Liability Theories
The greater frequency and scale of wildfires in the last several years have created operational and fiscal challenges for electric utility companies, including new theories of liability and unique operational and risk management considerations — all of which must be carefully considered by utility investors, say David Botter and Lisa Schweitzer at Cleary.
-
5 Ways To Hone Deposition Skills And Improve Results
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Depositions must never be taken for granted in the preparations needed to win a dispositive motion or a trial, and five best practices, including knowing when to hire a videographer, can significantly improve outcomes, says James Argionis at Cozen O'Connor.
-
Series
Skiing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
A lifetime of skiing has helped me develop important professional skills, and taught me that embracing challenges with a spirit of adventure can allow lawyers to push boundaries, expand their capabilities and ultimately excel in their careers, says Andrea Przybysz at Tucker Ellis.
-
Bid Protest Spotlight: Conflict, Latent Ambiguity, Cost Realism
In this month's bid protest roundup, Markus Speidel at MoFo examines a trio of U.S. Government Accountability Office decisions with takeaways about the consequences of a teaming partner's organizational conflict of interest, a solicitation's latent ambiguity and an unreasonable agency cost adjustment.
-
Think Like A Lawyer: Forget Everything You Know About IRAC
The mode of legal reasoning most students learn in law school, often called “Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion,” or IRAC, erroneously frames analysis as a separate, discrete step, resulting in disorganized briefs and untold obfuscation — but the fix is pretty simple, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
-
Recent Rulings Add Dimension To Justices' Maui Decision
The U.S. Supreme Court's 2020 decision in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund established new factual criteria for determining when the Clean Water Act applies to groundwater — and recent decisions from the Ninth and Tenth Circuits have clarified how litigants can make use of the Maui standard, says Steven Hoch at Clark Hill.
-
10th Circ. Ruling Means More Okla. Oilfield Pollution Litigation
By applying Oklahoma's statutory definitions of pollution to a private landowner's claim for negligence for the first time, the Tenth Circuit's recent decision in Lazy S Ranch v. Valero will likely make it harder to obtain summary judgment in oilfield contamination cases, and will lead to more litigation, say attorneys at GableGotwals.
-
How Firms Can Ensure Associate Gender Parity Lasts
Among associates, women now outnumber men for the first time, but progress toward gender equality at the top of the legal profession remains glacially slow, and firms must implement time-tested solutions to ensure associates’ gender parity lasts throughout their careers, say Kelly Culhane and Nicole Joseph at Culhane Meadows.
-
How Echoing Techniques Can Derail Witnesses At Deposition
Before depositions, defense attorneys must prepare witnesses to recognize covert echoing techniques that may be used by opposing counsel to lower their defenses and elicit sensitive information — potentially leading to nuclear settlements and verdicts, say Bill Kanasky and Steve Wood at Courtroom Sciences.