Environmental

  • December 10, 2024

    Stellantis, CATL Invest Up To €4.1B For Battery Plant In Spain

    Automaker Stellantis announced Tuesday that it has formed a joint venture with Chinese battery maker CATL that sees the two investing up to €4.1 billion ($4.3 billion) to help build a large-scale European lithium iron phosphate battery plant in Spain.

  • December 09, 2024

    9th Circ. Tosses Regal Cinemas' COVID Coverage Suit

    Regal Cinemas cannot get coverage for its losses stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ninth Circuit ruled Monday, finding that a decision from New York's top court, along with a contamination exclusion, doomed any chance of coverage under the theater chain's policies with units of Allianz, Liberty Mutual and Zurich.

  • December 09, 2024

    Meet The Attys Arguing Over Trademark Liability At High Court

    A Gibson Dunn partner who has argued before the U.S. Supreme Court 27 times will square off against the former solicitor general of West Virginia in a high court fight Wednesday over whether corporate affiliates must pay a real estate development company's $46.6 million trademark infringement judgment when they are not parties in the case.

  • December 09, 2024

    EV Carmaker Lucid Wants To Shed More Of Inflated Biz Suit

    Electric carmaker Lucid Group has asked a California federal judge to toss most of the latest version of a proposed investor class action alleging its production forecasts were misleading, arguing that parts of the suit that remained intact after a recent dismissal order involved statements taken out of context.

  • December 09, 2024

    DC Circ. Unsure Of Wading Into FERC Grid Plan Fight

    D.C. Circuit judges appeared reluctant on Monday to entertain the legality of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's 2023 rejection of a grid operator's plan to manage certain transmission project costs, given that the agency later approved related projects in May.

  • December 09, 2024

    Xcel Can't Hide Evidence In Marshall Fire Suit, Attys Say

    Attorneys representing more than 4,000 individuals suing Xcel Energy over a 2021 Colorado wildfire demand the utility release thousands of documents regarding the location of a power line that allegedly caused an ignition, claiming the information is being improperly withheld despite how critical it is to the case.

  • December 09, 2024

    EPA Finalizes Bans On Two Carcinogenic Chemicals

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a pair of final rules on Monday banning all uses of trichloroethylene and all consumer uses of perchloroethylene, which are cancer-causing chemical solvents used in brake cleaner and adhesive products.

  • December 09, 2024

    NJ Says Sherwin-Williams' Bid To Stay Pollution Suit Too Late

    New Jersey has pushed back against a bid from Sherwin-Williams to pause a suit from Garden State regulators over the contamination at one of its former plants, arguing that the stay request should have been filed months ago.

  • December 09, 2024

    Metal Co. Says Liberty Mutual Owes $1.1M For Hail Damage

    A Texas metal fabrication company said it is owed more than $1.1 million from Liberty Mutual, telling a federal court Monday that the insurer improperly refused to pay out a claim for hail damage after a September 2023 storm.

  • December 09, 2024

    Beveridge & Diamond Picks Up Longtime DOJ Enviro Litigator

    Beveridge & Diamond PC has hired the former chief of the law and policy section at the U.S. Department of Justice's Environment and Natural Resources Division, who is bringing his more-than 26-year government experience in environmental law to the D.C. team, the firm announced Friday.

  • December 09, 2024

    Judge Axes $33M Suit Challenging Feds' Wildfire Response

    An Oregon federal judge has dismissed a suit by two lumber companies claiming that the U.S. Forest Service failed to properly fight a wildfire in the Willamette National Forest, holding that the agency's decisions are shielded under the Federal Tort Claims Act.

  • December 07, 2024

    Up Next: Environmental Reviews, Wire Fraud & TM Awards

    The U.S. Supreme Court will hear its final set of oral arguments for the 2024 calendar year starting Monday, including disputes over the proper scope of federal environmental reviews and whether corporate affiliates can be ordered to pay disgorgement awards in trademark infringement disputes.

  • December 06, 2024

    US Ukrainian Group Wants FCC SpaceX Approvals Halted

    The FCC needs to put any decisions related to SpaceX on ice until an ethics committee can decide how to handle them now that the company's billionaire owner Elon Musk has been tapped for an oversight role in the upcoming Trump administration, the agency has been told.

  • December 06, 2024

    DC Circ. Mulls If EPA Can Set Rules Based On Predicted Tech

    At least one member of the D.C. Circuit did not seem to be picking up what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was putting down in defense of a rule that would give coal-fired power plants until 2032 to meet certain emissions standards that critics claim are impossible.

  • December 06, 2024

    Feds Want Full DC Circ. To Reverse Panel's NEPA Regs Ruling

    Two D.C. Circuit judges who ruled a White House agency lacks authority to issue regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act violated a cornerstone legal tenet and must be overturned, according to the federal government.

  • December 06, 2024

    Shell, Equinor Creating UK Oil Giant As Sea Basin Matures

    Shell UK Ltd. and Equinor UK Ltd. are joining forces to create what they said will be the largest independent oil and gas company in the U.K., citing declining production in the "once-prolific basin" of the North Sea as the impetus for the 50-50 joint venture. 

  • December 06, 2024

    Insurer Escapes Defending Developer's Ga. Tree Removal

    A Georgia federal judge freed an insurer Friday from defending developers blamed for wrongfully cutting down 120 feet of trees on a property line shared with a children's summer camp, finding the act was intentional.

  • December 06, 2024

    1st Circ. Affirms Mass. Wind Energy Permits

    A three-judge First Circuit panel rejected a pair of fishing industry challenges to environmental permits for the massive — and now paused — Vineyard Wind project off the coast of Massachusetts.

  • December 06, 2024

    Canada's Chinese Import Surtaxes Expected To Raise $334M

    Canada's new surtaxes on Chinese electric vehicles and steel and aluminum products are estimated to generate CA$473 million ($334 million) over the next five years, though the EV surtax on its own is likely to cause a dip in revenue, a government analysis said.

  • December 06, 2024

    Offit Kurman Adds Lanak & Hanna Environmental Atty In LA

    Offit Kurman Attorneys At Law continues expanding its two-year-old Los Angeles office, announcing Thursday it is bringing in a Lanak & Hanna PC construction, environmental and real estate litigator as a principal.

  • December 05, 2024

    Frontier Pays $3.5M To End Calif. AG's Illegal Dumping Probe

    The California subsidiary of telecom company Frontier Communications will pay $3.5 million to end an investigation into the improper disposal of batteries, aerosol cans and other hazardous waste at warehouses and field service facilities dating back to 2008, the Golden State's attorney general announced Thursday.

  • December 05, 2024

    SolarEdge's CEO, CFO Can't Escape Securities Lawsuit

    A New York federal judge ruled Wednesday that a proposed securities class action accusing SolarEdge Technologies Inc. of misrepresenting the demand for its solar energy products in Europe will go on against two of the company's top executives, saying investors adequately pled the executives knowingly misrepresented distributors' inventory levels.

  • December 05, 2024

    Gov't Efficiency Push Is A 'New Day,' House Speaker Says

    House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., spoke excitedly Thursday about the new government efficiency operation helmed by billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and touted the budding bipartisan lineup of a congressional caucus that will work with it.

  • December 05, 2024

    Wash. Gov.'s Executive Order Backs Tribal Salmon Initiative

    Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has, in an executive order, directed state agencies to cooperate with four sovereign tribal nations and Oregon to fulfill commitments to the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative, which aims to protect salmon and steelhead populations.

  • December 05, 2024

    Utah Defends Effort To Wrest Land From Feds At High Court

    Utah told the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday that its proposed lawsuit accusing the government of unconstitutionally hoarding and profiting from public lands in the state belongs before the justices and that the government's recent response strengthens its case.

Expert Analysis

  • How Justices Upended The Administrative Procedure Act

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    In its recent Loper Bright, Corner Post and Jarkesy decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court fundamentally changed the Administrative Procedure Act in ways that undermine Congress and the executive branch, shift power to the judiciary, curtail public and business input, and create great uncertainty, say Alene Taber and Beth Hummer at Hanson Bridgett.

  • How Corner Post Affects Enviro Laws' Statutes Of Limitations

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Corner Post v. Federal Reserve Board has helped to alter the fundamental underpinnings of administrative law — and its plaintiff-centric approach may have implications for some specific environmental laws' statutes of limitations, say Chris Leason and Liam Martin at Gallagher and Kennedy.

  • 2 Vital Trial Principles Endure Amid Tech Advances

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    Progress in trial technologies in the last 10 years has been transformative for courtroom presentations, but two core communication axioms are still relevant in today's world of drone footage evidence and 3D animations, say Adam Bloomberg and Lisa Walters at IMS Legal Strategies.

  • Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, Is My Counterclaim Bound To Fall?

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    A Pennsylvania federal court’s recent dismissal of the defendants’ counterclaims in Morgan v. Noss should remind attorneys to avoid the temptation to repackage a claim’s facts and law into a mirror-image counterclaim, as this approach will often result in a waste of time and resources, says Matthew Selmasska at Kaufman Dolowich.

  • Nuclear Power Can Help Industrial Plants Get To Net-Zero

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    In the race to fight climate change and achieve net-zero emissions, the industrial sector currently faces immense challenges — but the integration of nuclear energy is a promising solution, so companies should consider the financial and regulatory issues, opportunities, and risk-mitigating factors, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • 6 Factors That Can Make For A 'Nuclear' Juror

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    Drawing from recent research that examines the rise in nuclear verdicts, Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies identifies a few juror characteristics most likely to matter in assessing case risk and preparing for jury selection — some of which are long-known, and others that are emerging post-pandemic.

  • Series

    Playing Dungeons & Dragons Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing Dungeons & Dragons – a tabletop role-playing game – helped pave the way for my legal career by providing me with foundational skills such as persuasion and team building, says Derrick Carman at Robins Kaplan.

  • Class Action Law Makes An LLC A 'Jurisdictional Platypus'

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    The applicability of Section 1332(d)(10) of the Class Action Fairness Act is still widely misunderstood — and given the ambiguous nature of limited liability companies, the law will likely continue to confound courts and litigants — so parties should be prepared for a range of outcomes, says Andrew Gunem at Strauss Borrelli.

  • 3 Leadership Practices For A More Supportive Firm Culture

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    Traditional leadership styles frequently amplify the inherent pressures of legal work, but a few simple, time-neutral strategies can strengthen the skills and confidence of employees and foster a more collaborative culture, while supporting individual growth and contribution to organizational goals, says Benjamin Grimes at BKG Leadership.

  • Rebuttal

    Cancer Research Org. Is Right To Avoid Corporate Influence

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    While a previous Law360 guest article criticizes the International Agency for Research on Cancer's processes, its reliance on peer-reviewed literature is proper and its refusal to allow corporate influence is sound science, say Lance Oliver and Ridge Mazingo at Motley Rice.

  • Attorneys Can Benefit From Reverse-Engineering Their Cases

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    Trial advocacy programs often teach lawyers to loosely track the progression of a lawsuit during preparation — case analysis, then direct examination, then cross-examination, openings and closings — but reverse-engineering cases by working backward from opening and closing statements can streamline the process and also improve case strategy, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • How Courts' Differing Views On Standing Affect PFAS Claims

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    Two recent opinions from New York federal courts — in Lurenz v. Coca-Cola, and Winans v. Ornua Foods North America — illustrate how pivotal the differing views on standing held by different courts will be for product liability litigation involving per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, particularly consumer claims, say attorneys at Hollingsworth.

  • New State Carbon Capture Laws: Key Points For Developers

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    Multiple states have introduced or expanded legal frameworks for carbon capture and sequestration this year, and while there are some common themes, many of these state laws include unique approaches and requirements — which developers and investors should be aware of when considering potential projects and investment risks, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Hyperlinked Documents

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    Recent rulings show that counsel should engage in early discussions with clients regarding the potential of hyperlinked documents in electronically stored information, which will allow for more deliberate negotiation of any agreements regarding the scope of discovery, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Loper Bright Limits Federal Agencies' Ability To Alter Course

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to dismantle Chevron deference also effectively overrules its 2005 decision in National Cable & Telecommunications Association v. Brand X, greatly diminishing agencies' ability to change regulatory course from one administration to the next, says Steven Gordon at Holland & Knight.

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