Oil Giants Defeat City Of Baltimore's Climate Change Claims

By Hailey Konnath

A Maryland judge has dismissed Baltimore's suit seeking climate change-related damages from oil companies including Chevron, Exxon and BP, ruling that the city's claims stem from a global phenomenon and thus are "beyond the limits of Maryland state law."

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$1M Fine 'Substantial' In Wash. Dam Settlement, Judge Says

By Crystal Owens

A Washington federal judge, over objections from tribes and environmental groups, is allowing the government to enter into a proposed consent decree that would settle Clean Water Act violations, saying a $1 million fine against dam operator Electron Hydro is substantial.

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Judge Grants Tesoro Injunction In Pipeline Fight With Feds

By Tom Lotshaw

A North Dakota federal judge has granted a Marathon Petroleum Corp. subsidiary's request for an injunction to block an Interior Department order vacating several decisions related to a pipeline crossing through part of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation.

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Biden Floats $2B To Drive US Auto Industry's EV Pivot

By Linda Chiem

The Biden administration on Thursday unveiled its latest initiative to bolster domestic automotive production by offering nearly $2 billion in grants to convert 11 auto manufacturing and assembly facilities that have been shuttered or are at risk of closing to build electric vehicles and related components.

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Brief

EPA Grants Petition On Plastic Container PFAS

By Tom Lotshaw

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday granted a petition asking it to address several so-called forever chemicals formed during the fluorination of plastic containers for a variety of household and industrial uses.

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Marathon Oil To Pay $241.5M Over North Dakota Emissions

By Madeline Lyskawa

The U.S. Department of Justice revealed on Thursday that it has reached a $241.5 million settlement with Marathon Oil, resolving allegations of Clean Air Act violations tied to the company's oil and gas production operations on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota.

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Coca-Cola Faces Revised Suit Over PFAS In Juice Products

By Tom Lotshaw

A New York man has hit Coca-Cola and its Simply Orange Juice Co. subsidiary with a revised proposed class action alleging they deceptively market juices as pure, healthy and all-natural when they actually contain harmful, man-made forever chemicals.

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Calif. Tribe Seeks $8.2M For Cultural Site Destruction

By Crystal Owens

The Quechan Indian Tribe is asking a California federal judge to award it $8.2 million after the court found that a federal government construction project to replace poles for 9 miles of transmission lines damaged 10 cultural and sacred archaeological sites on the tribe's reservation.

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Calif. Customers Sue Toyota Over Hydrogen Fuel Scarcity

By Madeline Lyskawa

Toyota customers in California have slapped the automaker with a proposed class action complaint, saying the scarcity of hydrogen fuel available for their Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles has rendered them "unsafe, unreliable and inoperable."

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8th Circ. OKs Toxic Gas Injury Win, But Cuts Award By $30M

By Rae Ann Varona

The Eighth Circuit on Thursday affirmed a jury's finding that Dyno Nobel Inc.'s negligence in handling toxic gas emissions caused serious injuries to a man's larynx but slashed his $43.75 million award down to $13.75 million, saying the explosives company lacked the culpable mental state required for punitive damages.

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Deals Rumor Mill: Saudi Aramco, Paramount Global, Carlyle

By Tom Zanki

The Carlyle Group is considering acquiring Baxter International's kidney-care spinoff Vantive for about $4 billion, Aramco attracted more than $31 billion in orders for its $6 billion bond sale, and Paramount Global plans to cut more jobs before its merger with Skydance Media closes. Here, Law360 breaks down these and other notable deal rumors from the past week.

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California Adds A Novel Twist To State Suits Against Big Oil

California’s suit against Exxon Mobil Corp., one of several state suits that seek to hold oil and gas companies accountable for climate-related harms, is unique both in the magnitude of the alleged claims and its use of a consumer protection statute to seek disgorgement of industry profits, says Julia Stein at UCLA School of Law.

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Criminal Enforcement Considerations For Gov't Contractors

Government contractors increasingly exposed to criminal liability risks should establish programs that enable detection and remediation of employee misconduct, consider voluntary disclosure, and be aware of the potentially disastrous consequences of failing to make a mandatory disclosure where the government concludes it was required, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

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How Attorneys Can Reduce Bad Behavior At Deposition

To minimize unprofessional behavior by opposing counsel and witnesses, and take charge of the room at deposition, attorneys should lay out some key ground rules at the outset — and be sure to model good behavior themselves, says John Farrell at Fish & Richardson.

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Opinion

States Should Loosen Law Firm Ownership Restrictions

Despite growing buzz, normalized nonlawyer ownership of law firms is a distant prospect, so the legal community should focus first on liberalizing state restrictions on attorney and firm purchases of practices, which would bolster succession planning and improve access to justice, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.

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Trump Says Immunity Ruling Means Conviction Must Be Axed

By Hailey Konnath

Donald Trump has officially lodged his request for his conviction to be vacated in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's presidential immunity decision, arguing that prosecutors' evidence in the hush money case rests on official acts he took as president, according to a redacted motion made public Thursday.

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House Fails To Pass Inherent Contempt Resolution For AG

By Courtney Bublé

The House on Thursday failed to pass a Republican-led inherent contempt resolution for Attorney General Merrick Garland in hopes of obtaining audiotapes of President Joe Biden's interviews with special counsel Robert Hur in the classified documents investigation, but the measure's sponsor promised to try again.

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Ga. Dem Helps Block NY Judge's Nomination From Advancing

By Courtney Bublé

President Joe Biden's nomination of U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn for the Southern District of New York failed to advance out the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, after a key Democrat joined Republicans in opposition over her recommendation in a case that an inmate be transferred to a female facility.

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2 Of Alaska's 3 District Judge Seats Listed As 'Emergencies'

By Courtney Bublé

Two of the three district judgeships on the District of Alaska have been listed as "judicial emergencies" following the recent resignation of Judge Joshua Kindred over findings of sexual misconduct.

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Senate Confirms Judge To Federal Claims Court

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate voted 52-39 Thursday to confirm U.S. Magistrate Judge Robin M. Meriweather to the Court of Federal Claims for a term of 15 years.

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YSL Prosecutors Oppose Judge's Recusal Amid Mistrial Bid

By Kelcey Caulder

Prosecutors on Wednesday argued there is no reason Fulton County Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville should stop overseeing the ongoing racketeering trial against Atlanta rapper Young Thug and his associates, approximately an hour after the rapper moved for a mistrial.

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Attys Say Milberg Must Pay For Fraud In Visa, Mastercard MDL

By Emily Sawicki

Class counsel representing plaintiffs in long-running multidistrict litigation accusing Visa and Mastercard of charging improper merchant fees have called for sanctions against Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman LLC, laying out arguments for a fee reimbursement after the firm admitted to mistakenly registering fraudulent clients.

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Analysis

'Bridgegate' Defense Offers Road Map For NJ RICO Case

By George Woolston

Counsel for the powerful New Jersey mogul and Democratic operatives facing explosive racketeering charges are likely to justify their actions as just business, experts told Law360, describing defense tactics similar to the ones that absolved defendants in "Bridgegate," New Jersey's most notorious politics-fueled crime in recent history.

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Top NC Legal Industry Legislation Of 2024: A Midyear Report

By Travis Bland

North Carolina lawmakers have instituted a streamlined process for state business court filings and are eying controls on attorney fees for debt collection lawsuits. Another closely watched measure eases the discipline process for attorneys with the expansion of records access and the ability to expunge certain ethics transgressions.

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