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Environmental
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June 28, 2024
As Election Looms, M&A Attys Advise To 'Stay The Course'
The contentious presidential election is bound to rattle mergers and acquisitions activity in the short term, and the eventual winner will create unique sets of winners and losers in the market, but attorneys have a simple message to clients: "Stay the course."
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June 28, 2024
AT&T Faces Derivative Suit In Del. Over Toxic Cable Risks
An AT&T Inc. stockholder launched a derivative suit in Delaware's Court of Chancery on Friday seeking damages from the company's directors and top officers on the company's behalf for past, present and future expenses caused by toxic risks from lead-tainted cables around the country.
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June 28, 2024
Philly Judge Calls $2.25B Roundup Verdict 'Excessive'
A Philadelphia state judge has explained her decision to slash a cancer patient's $2.25 billion win against Monsanto for its Roundup weedkiller contributing to his lymphoma, calling the jury's January verdict unconstitutionally "excessive."
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June 28, 2024
EPA Coal Ash Rules Are Nothing New, DC Circ. Rules
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was enforcing existing rules rather than illegally issuing new ones when it rejected requests by power companies to extend a deadline to comply with regulations governing the cleanup of coal-ash waste facilities, a D.C. Circuit panel ruled Friday.
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June 28, 2024
Taxation With Representation: Kirkland, Vinson, Skadden
In this week's Taxation with Representation, Aareal Bank AG and Advent International sell a property management and maintenance software company, Webtoon Entertainment Inc. and Tamboran Resources Corp. price initial public offerings, SM Energy Company acquires oil and gas assets, and Nokia sells Alcatel Submarine Networks to the French state.
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June 28, 2024
High Court Enters July With 3 Rulings To Go
In a rare move, the U.S. Supreme Court will issue opinions into the beginning of July as the court tries to clear its merits docket of three remaining cases dealing with presidential immunity, whether governments can control social media platforms' content moderation policies and the appropriate deadline to challenge agency action.
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June 28, 2024
Supreme Court Strikes Down Chevron Deference
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday overturned a decades-old precedent that instructed judges about when they could defer to federal agencies' interpretations of law in rulemaking, depriving courts of a commonly used analytic tool and leaving lots of questions about what comes next.
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June 27, 2024
4 Firms Guide Pair Of IPOs Totaling $457M
Venture-backed drug developer Alumis Inc. and oil-land acquirer LandBridge LLC on Thursday priced initial public offerings, raising a combined $456.5 million, under the guidance of four law firms.
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June 27, 2024
High Court Liberals Warn Jarkesy's Reach Will Be Widespread
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to limit the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's use of its in-house courts will have "momentous consequences" for dozens of agencies tasked with overseeing the electric grid, environmental regulations and consumer protection laws, the court's liberal wing has warned.
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June 27, 2024
EPA's State Smog Pollution Plan Down, Not Out Yet
The U.S. Supreme Court flexed its muscles menacingly at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday and blocked it from implementing an important air pollution control plan for several states, but experts say it's too early to completely write off the rule in question.
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June 27, 2024
Split FERC Approves La. LNG Export Terminal
A divided Federal Energy Regulatory Commission gave the green light to a massive liquified natural gas export terminal in Louisiana during its monthly meeting Thursday, with departing Democratic Commissioner Allison Clements criticizing the agency for not adequately addressing the project's impacts.
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June 27, 2024
IRS To Offer Combined Filing For Energy Investment Credits
The Internal Revenue Service will let clean energy project owners that are claiming investment tax credits for more than 200 facilities file the claims with a single form, an agency official said Thursday.
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June 27, 2024
Judge Slams 'Unacceptable' Misstated Case Law In PFAS Suit
A federal magistrate judge in North Carolina chastised class counsel for Tar Heel State residents suing The Chemours Co. and DuPont De Nemours over toxic "forever chemicals" purportedly discharged in their wastewater, after the attorneys "misstated the language of various cases" they cited in a briefing.
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June 27, 2024
Ex-Exec Fights Sotera's Bid To Toss Del. Stock Vesting Suit
An attorney representing a former Sotera executive said Thursday in Delaware's Court of Chancery that the lab testing and industrial sterilization firm failed to justify its request for dismissal of a lawsuit alleging the company wrongly refused to vest his purported right to 620,000 shares in the business after his departure.
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June 27, 2024
Solar Co. Says Duty Expansion Ignores Production Process
A solar company has pressed the trade court to unwind a U.S. Department of Commerce ruling exposing Vietnamese solar products to tariffs on Chinese solar cells, saying that the cells are primarily made in Vietnam and are therefore of Vietnamese origin.
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June 27, 2024
DOL Benefits Chief Defends Fiduciary Rule Before GOP Panel
The head of the U.S. Department of Labor's employee benefits agency on Thursday defended recently finalized policy expanding the definition of a fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, drawing criticism from a Republican-controlled panel of House lawmakers at an oversight hearing.
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June 27, 2024
Sichenzia Ross Guiding Fuel Cell Co. On $130M SPAC Merger
Sichenzia Ross Ference Carmel LLP is advising Infintium Fuel Cell Systems Inc. on a newly inked blank-check company consolidation deal that values the hydrogen fuel cell technology provider at $130 million.
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June 27, 2024
Supreme Court Freezes EPA's 'Good Neighbor' Rule
The U.S. Supreme Court stayed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's plan to reduce cross-state pollution Thursday, finding several states and industry groups challenging it in court will likely prevail on the merits.
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June 26, 2024
Fla. Court Paves Way For $1B Miami Highway Expansion
A Florida appeals court on Wednesday affirmed a decision overturning an administrative law judge's ruling against a $1 billion Miami-Dade County plan for a highway extension into wetlands and agricultural areas, paving the way for the controversial plan to move forward.
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June 26, 2024
Online Comic Platform Leads 2 IPOs Raising $390M Total
Online comic platform Webtoon Entertainment Inc. and Australian natural gas producer Tamboran Resources Corp. on Wednesday priced initial public offerings, raising a combined $390 million under the guidance of four law firms.
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June 26, 2024
Talc Co. Barretts' Creditors Push To Dismiss Ch. 11 Case
Unsecured creditors of Barretts Minerals have urged a Texas bankruptcy judge to dismiss its bankruptcy following the debtor's sale of its talc business, arguing that Barretts remains in bankruptcy only to get its fully solvent parent company out of its talc liability.
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June 26, 2024
States Say Revised EPA Water Rule Worse Than Original
Two dozen states are seeking a quick win against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and several Native American tribes in their suit challenging a revised rule defining the Clean Water Act's reach, saying it doesn't solve many problems found in the original rule.
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June 26, 2024
White House Unveils $1.8B In Transportation Grants
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg revealed on Wednesday that the agency had awarded $1.8 billion in grants for 148 transportation infrastructure projects across the country, as part of the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity discretionary grants program.
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June 26, 2024
SpaceX Beach Closure Challenge Is 'Illogical,' Texas Says
Texas is asking its high court to review a decision that forces several government entities to face an environmental group's challenge to the closure of a beach for SpaceX activities, writing that the appellate court's adoption of the group's theory of open beach access "clashes" with state law and court precedent.
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June 26, 2024
Texas Moves To Bar DOJ Witness In Rio Grande Barrier Fight
Texas has moved to disqualify one of the Biden administration's witnesses in litigation over the Lone Star state's 1,000-foot barrier in the Rio Grande to keep out migrants, arguing the witness has no relevant or reliable opinions to offer.
Expert Analysis
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Energy Community Tax Credit Boost Will Benefit Wind Sector
Recent Internal Revenue Service guidance broadening tax credit eligibility to more parts of offshore wind facilities in so-called energy communities is a win for the industry, which stands to see more projects qualify for a particularly valuable bonus in the investment tax credit context due to the capital-intensive nature of offshore wind projects, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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Circumstantial Evidence Requires A Pointillist Approach
Because complex cases with sophisticated defendants are unlikely to reveal much, if any, direct evidence, attorneys must aggregate many pieces of circumstantial evidence into a cohesive narrative — much like the painting technique of pointillism, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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Traversing The Web Of Nonjudicial Grievance Mechanisms
Attorneys at Covington provide an overview of how companies can best align their environmental and human rights compliance with "hard-law" requirements like the EU's recently approved Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive while also navigating the complex global network of existing nonjudicial grievance mechanisms.
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Exploring Patent Trends In Aerospace Electrification
As blue-chip companies lead the charge to power large-scale commercial airplanes with electricity, and startups advance the trend on a regional scale, patent applications directed at improving energy storage and electric motor efficiency are on the rise, say attorneys at Finnegan.
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Opinion
Federal MDL Rule Benefits From Public Comments
The new Federal Rule of Civil Procedure concerning multidistrict litigation that was approved this week by the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules incorporates ideas from public comments that will aid both plaintiffs and defense attorneys — and if ultimately adopted, the rule should promote efficient, merits-driven MDL case management, say Robert Johnston and Gary Feldon at Hollingsworth.
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Practicing Law With Parkinson's Disease
This Parkinson’s Awareness Month, Adam Siegler at Greenberg Traurig discusses his experience working as a lawyer with Parkinson’s disease, sharing both lessons on how to cope with a diagnosis and advice for supporting colleagues who live with the disease.
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Climate Disclosure Mandates Demand A Big-Picture Approach
As carbon emissions disclosure requirements from the European Union, California and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission take effect, the best practice for companies is not targeted compliance with a given reporting regime, but rather a comprehensive approach to systems assessment and management, says David Smith at Manatt.
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Series
Playing Hockey Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Nearly a lifetime of playing hockey taught me the importance of avoiding burnout in all aspects of life, and the game ultimately ended up providing me with the balance I needed to maintain success in my legal career, says John Riccione at Taft.
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ESG Challenges In Focus After Sierra Club Opposes SEC Rule
The Sierra Club's recent objection to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate-related disclosures for investors presents an unusual — pro-disclosure — legal challenge and an opportunity to take a close look at the varying critiques of ESG regulations, say Colin Pohlman, and Jane Luxton and Paul Kisslinger at Lewis Brisbois.
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For Lawyers, Pessimism Should Be A Job Skill, Not A Life Skill
A pessimistic mindset allows attorneys to be effective advocates for their clients, but it can come with serious costs for their personal well-being, so it’s crucial to exercise strategies that produce flexible optimism and connect lawyers with their core values, says Krista Larson at Stinson.
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Illinois EV Charging Act Sparks Developer Concerns
A recent state law in Illinois requiring multifamily housing to provide facilities for electric vehicle charging raises significant concerns for developers over existing infrastructure that isn't up to the task, says Max Kanter at Much Shelist.
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5th Circ. Clarifies What Is And Isn't A 'New Use' Of PFAS
The Fifth Circuit's March 21 decision in Inhance Technologies v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, preventing the EPA from regulating existing uses of PFAS under "significant new use" provisions of the Toxic Substances Control Act, provides industry with much-needed clarity, say Joseph Schaeffer and Sloane Wildman at Babst Calland.
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Opinion
New Mexico Fire Victims Deserve Justice From Federal Gov't
Two years after the largest fire in New Mexico's history — a disaster caused by the U.S. government's mismanagement of prescribed burns — the Federal Emergency Management Agency must remedy its grossly inadequate relief efforts and flawed legal interpretations that have left victims of the fire still waiting for justice, says former New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas.
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Opinion
Requiring Leave To File Amicus Briefs Is A Bad Idea
A proposal to amend the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure that would require parties to get court permission before filing federal amicus briefs would eliminate the long-standing practice of consent filing and thereby make the process less open and democratic, says Lawrence Ebner at the Atlantic Legal Foundation and DRI Center.
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Opinion
Streamlined Mine Regulation Is Key For The Energy Transition
Mining is essential for obtaining the critical minerals required for a transition to greener energy and transportation technologies, but inefficient permitting processes are making it harder to mine these essential materials that will enable a more environmentally sound future, says Scot Anderson at Womble Bond.