Environmental

  • October 01, 2024

    Georgia-Pacific Tells 6th Circ. Rivals Liable In CERCLA Row

    Georgia-Pacific Consumer Products LP on Tuesday asked the Sixth Circuit to affirm a Michigan federal judge's ruling that International Paper Co. and Weyerhaeuser Co. can be sued for future cleanup costs of a Michigan Superfund site.

  • October 01, 2024

    EPA Can't Justify Water Permitting Rule, La. Judge Told

    Republican-led states and industry groups fired back at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's defense of its rule broadening states' and tribes' power to veto infrastructure projects over water quality concerns, telling a Louisiana federal judge it goes against what Congress intended with the Clean Water Act.

  • October 01, 2024

    Feds Didn't Consider Gold Mine's Full Impact, Judge Says

    The federal government didn't realistically study the potential spill risks associated with a large open-pit gold mine when it approved the project, an Alaskan federal judge has said, arguing the Army Corps of Engineers erred in concluding that a catastrophic event is a "worst case" scenario in its environmental analysis.

  • October 01, 2024

    First Marshall Fire Trial To Decide Liability For All Plaintiffs

    A Colorado state judge ruled Monday that the first trial in consolidated lawsuits against Xcel Energy and telecom companies for damages related to a 2021 wildfire will decide liability for all plaintiffs unless they show a good reason to opt-out.

  • October 01, 2024

    Tennessee Judge Affirms TVA-Approved Gas Turbine Project

    A Tennessee federal judge rejected the Sierra Club's challenge of an environmental assessment that the Tennessee Valley Authority completed to install new gas combustion turbines at one of its existing facilities in the Volunteer State.

  • October 01, 2024

    Enviro Group Sues Over PFAS In Carefree Menstrual Liners

    Makers of the Carefree brand of menstrual liners, Edgewell Personal Care Co., on Monday were sued by an environmental group in California state court over allegations that the personal care products contain a type of so-called forever chemicals.

  • October 01, 2024

    Monsanto Can't Avoid Vt. Schools' Nuisance Claims Over PCBs

    A Vermont federal judge has refused to dismiss nuisance and trespass claims by public school districts asserting their buildings were contaminated with a toxic chemical made by Monsanto Co., finding they plausibly alleged Monsanto knew the products would make their way onto the properties yet chose not to warn the districts.

  • October 01, 2024

    EBay Beats Gov't Claims Over Sale Of Polluting Products

    A New York federal judge Monday tossed a government lawsuit accusing eBay Inc. of hawking illegal automotive, paint removal and pesticide products, holding that the e-commerce giant does not meet the definition of a "seller" and has Section 230 immunity as a publisher of third-party content.

  • October 01, 2024

    NC Judge Trims Most Of $200M Apartment Complex Sale Suit

    A North Carolina federal judge tossed out the breach of contract and deceptive trade practices claims in a real estate firm's suit over a soured $200 million deal to acquire a portfolio of apartment complexes, but the court said the buyer's claims could come back later.

  • October 01, 2024

    EPA Can't Justify Particulate Matter Rule, DC Circ. Told

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency can't justify its decision to ratchet down a fine particulate matter air pollution standard, Republican-led states and industry groups told the D.C. Circuit on Monday.

  • October 01, 2024

    Rancher Wins Claim That Border Wall Halt Hurt Environment

    An Arizona rancher has won his lawsuit claiming the Biden administration violated federal environmental law by failing to analyze how stopping construction on a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico and terminating a program that returned migrants to Mexico would impact the area.

  • October 01, 2024

    Ex-Interior Dept. Deputy's Oil Stocks Violated Ethics Laws

    The onetime deputy secretary of the Interior, Tommy Beaudreau, who moved into private practice last year and now co-leads WilmerHale's energy practice, violated government ethics laws by failing to recuse himself from drilling-related matters while knowingly holding petroleum stocks, according to an internal watchdog's ethics report released Tuesday.

  • October 01, 2024

    Battery Companies' Fire Cleanup Fight Trimmed In Ga.

    A Georgia federal judge trimmed a battery reseller and its recycling counterpart's lawsuit against their insurer over claims that the carrier failed to fully cover them after a two-week-long fire ravaged their property, finding that the insurer didn't owe additional coverage for the companies' personal property losses.

  • October 01, 2024

    Treasury Plans Final Direct Pay Partnership Regs By Year-End

    The U.S. Treasury Department is eyeing the end of the year to finalize regulations for development projects to elect out of their partnership tax status to qualify for a direct cash payment of their clean energy tax credits, an official said Tuesday.

  • September 30, 2024

    Wheeling & Appealing: The Latest Must-Know Appellate Action

    The year's spookiest month is looking scary-good for appellate aficionados, as famed oral advocates joust in October over net neutrality and Uber's extraordinary bid to unravel multidistrict litigation — just two of the high-profile arguments previewed in this edition of Wheeling & Appealing. October also begins with former President Jimmy Carter turning 100, and we'll test your knowledge of his profound impact on the judiciary.

  • September 30, 2024

    Amazon's Soured Solar Deal Suit Misses Mark, PE Firm Says

    A California-based private equity firm and firms tied to two solar projects have urged a Washington state judge to toss most of Amazon's claims in a $200 million countersuit over a power purchase deal fallout, accusing the e-commerce giant of making an "end run" around its own contracts to drain them financially.

  • September 30, 2024

    Arizona Legislature Says State Can't Slip Monument Suits

    The Arizona State Legislature fired back at Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs' attempt to dismiss its lawsuit seeking to upend the Biden administration's creation of a national monument on an Indigenous site, defending its alleged injuries as "concrete and imminent."

  • September 30, 2024

    Big Banks Get Brazilian Pollution Suit Booted From NY

    A New York federal judge on Monday dismissed an effort by a Brazilian city and residents to hold several big banks liable for allegedly financing environmentally ruinous mining operations in their region, ruling the matter would be more appropriately heard in Brazil.

  • September 30, 2024

    Apache Tribe Urges Supreme Court To Take Up Mining Case

    The San Carlos Apache Tribe is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a ruling by Arizona's high court that sides with a state agency decision letting a copper mining company discharge treated wastewater from potential future operations into a local waterway.

  • September 30, 2024

    DOE Plutonium Pit Plan Found To Violate Environmental Law

    A South Carolina federal judge on Monday backed antinuclear groups' challenge to a U.S. Department of Energy plan to boost production of plutonium cores used in nuclear weapons, saying the DOE hadn't properly considered the potential environmental impact of the plan.

  • September 30, 2024

    Kids Face 'Very Uphill' Climb To Save Reworked Climate Suit

    A California federal judge indicated Monday that he will likely toss amended allegations that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's climate policies run afoul of children's constitutional rights, saying the plaintiffs face a "very uphill" battle to conform the lawsuit with binding Ninth Circuit precedent.

  • September 30, 2024

    Missouri Drops Appeal Intended To Save ESG Regulations

    Missouri has asked the Eighth Circuit to dismiss its appeal of a federal judge's decision finding that the state's anti-environmental, social and governance regulations for brokers and advisers violate the First Amendment and are preempted by federal laws.

  • September 30, 2024

    Marathon Unit Wants 8th Circ. To Nix Appeal In Pipeline Fight

    A Marathon Petroleum Corp. subsidiary is asking the Eighth Circuit to dismiss an appeal by tribal landowners trying to intervene in its lawsuit challenging the Interior Department's reversal of prior decisions related to a pipeline crossing part of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota.

  • September 30, 2024

    Morgan Stanley Investment Arm Nabs $750M For Climate Fund

    Morgan Stanley's investment management arm revealed Monday that its climate private equity fund, which is focused on investing in North American and European companies working to avoid or remove one gigaton of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions from the atmosphere, closed at $750 million of equity capital commitments.

  • September 30, 2024

    Del. Justices Asked To Revive Malpractice Suit Against Firms

    Parents who hired Baird Mandalas Brockstedt & Federico LLC and Schochor Staton Goldberg and Cardea PA to pursue claims that contamination from a Mountaire Corp. chicken plant caused "catastrophic injuries" to their child are urging Delaware's Supreme Court to revive their malpractice suit against the firms, saying they didn't "have an adequate opportunity to litigate."

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • New NHTSA Fuel Economy Rule Adds Compliance Complexity

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    The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's recently announced final rule on new corporate average fuel economy standards for passenger cars and light trucks will create challenges for manufacturers, which must also comply with the EPA's multipollutant rule and California's zero-emission vehicle programs, say Joanne Rotondi and Hannah Graae at Hogan Lovells.

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