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April 16, 2024
DC Circ. Grills EPA On Nixing Refiners' Biofuel Exemptions
A D.C. Circuit panel seemed open Tuesday to petroleum refiners' challenge to federal regulators' denial of their exemptions to federal renewable fuel requirements, as the judges grilled attorneys for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on how federal regulators gauge refineries' compliance costs.
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April 16, 2024
DOE Aims To Wrap LNG Review By Year-End, Granholm Says
U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm on Tuesday said her agency hoped to complete the review of its liquefied natural gas export policy by year's end and pushed back on accusations that the current pause of export reviews is permanent.
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April 16, 2024
Broadband Subsidy Backers Seek To Force House Vote
Nearly 300 groups urged Congress to extend the Affordable Connectivity Program, but as a bill to do so picked up support from more than half of U.S. House lawmakers, a vote on replenishing the fund remains up in the air.
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April 16, 2024
Virginia Judge Tosses State Broadband Law Challenge
The Association of American Railroads has lost its challenge to a Virginia federal law that gives broadband providers easier access to railroad property and that the group says constitutes illegal taking, after a judge knocked out all the suit's claims for various reasons.
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April 16, 2024
EPA Urges 5th Circ. To Back Win In Texas Air Quality Suit
U.S. regulators and the Sierra Club urged the Fifth Circuit not to upset a panel's ruling finding the government legally accepted pollution data from the conservation group to apply a poor air quality designation in two Texas counties surrounding a coal-fired power plant.
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April 15, 2024
Exxon Seeks $1.8B Tax Refund As Qatar Deal Trial Opens
Exxon Mobil Corp. argued Monday in Texas federal court that its deal with Qatar to extract natural gas from the country's coast was a partnership, rather than a lease agreement, saying at the start of a trial that it's entitled to get $1.8 billion in tax benefits back from the IRS.
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April 15, 2024
Baltimore Taps DiCello Levitt, Saltz Mongeluzzi For Key Bridge
The city of Baltimore announced Monday it has hired DiCello Levitt and Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky PC as it plans legal action against those responsible for a container ship destroying the Francis Scott Key Bridge last month, the same day FBI agents boarded the ship as part of a criminal investigation.
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April 15, 2024
Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court
Last week, Delaware justices mulled whether one Chancery Court vice chancellor properly voided four company bylaws — just as another vice chancellor voided one more. Fights among Truth Social investors continued, and shareholders launched new cases involving Macy's, United Airlines, and Clayton Dubilier & Rice LLC and Stone Point Capital LLC.
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April 15, 2024
Justices Skip Appeal Over $36M Sanction In TM Case
The U.S. Supreme Court will not consider the appeal of a man who argued the Ninth Circuit was wrong to impose $36 million in sanctions against him and several companies in a trademark dispute, the justices said Monday.
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April 12, 2024
DOI Sews Up Overhaul Of Oil Leasing Regs And Rates
The U.S. Department of the Interior on Friday finalized its overhaul of decades-old onshore oil and gas leasing regulations and rates with an eye on guiding oil and gas drilling toward already developed public lands.
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April 12, 2024
Mediation Not Required In River Authority Price Hike Row
The Texas Supreme Court on Friday reversed a lower court decision that the San Jacinto River Authority was required to mediate claims with two Houston-area cities over unpaid amounts for groundwater services, writing that contract provisions for alternative dispute resolution "do not serve as limits" on a waiver of governmental immunity.
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April 12, 2024
SEC Says Developer Pulled EB-5 Funds From Nursing Homes
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission accused a Las Vegas developer of using $10 million raised by overseas investors hoping to immigrate to the U.S. to pay down a loan for a project unconnected to their immigration applications.
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April 12, 2024
Tribes Look To Overturn Enbridge's Line 5 Mich. Tunnel Permit
Several tribal nations are asking the Michigan Court of Appeals to overturn and remand a state commission's permit approval that allows Enbridge Energy to build a Line 5 pipeline tunnel project beneath the Straits of Mackinac, arguing that they and others were barred from introducing evidence relevant to the final decision.
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April 11, 2024
Wash. Justices Side With EB-5 Firm Over Arbitration Award
Washington's high court ruled on Thursday that the payment of an arbitration award does not resolve a case seeking to confirm that award, standing by a lower court's decision to enter a confirmation order on an investment firm's $11.5 million win against a beleaguered developer over missed payments on a loan.
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April 11, 2024
Pacific Pipeline To Pay Calif. Landowners $70M Over Oil Spill
A class of landowners urged a California federal judge to sign off on a $70 million deal with Pacific Pipeline Co. to resolve litigation stemming from the rupture of an onshore pipeline that leaked 140,000 gallons of crude oil near Santa Barbara, California, according to a motion for settlement approval entered Wednesday.
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April 11, 2024
DOI Lowers Fees For Solar, Wind Projects On Public Lands
The U.S. Department of the Interior unveiled finalized updates to its renewable energy regulations on Thursday that are aimed at promoting the development of solar and wind energy on public lands by lowering the associated fees.
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April 11, 2024
Judge Recommends State Court For Ore. County Climate Suit
A federal magistrate judge has said an Oregon county's climate change lawsuit against Chevron, Exxon Mobil and other fossil fuel companies should be sent back to state court, rejecting arguments that the complaint was fraudulently crafted to evade federal jurisdiction.
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April 11, 2024
EPA Says Colo. Air Pollution Plan Approval Was Proper
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday urged the Tenth Circuit to uphold its approval of a Colorado air emissions permitting program, and said a green group's argument that the scheme contains too many exemptions for the oil and gas industry pollution is mistaken.
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April 11, 2024
US Sends Mixed Messages In Enbridge Line 5 Pipeline Dispute
The U.S. government sent mixed messages to the Seventh Circuit in weighing in on Enbridge's controversial Line 5 oil pipeline, saying a lower court was right to determine that the company is trespassing on tribal lands, but recommended that the case be remanded and that a tribe's public nuisance claim be dismissed.
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April 10, 2024
Texas Panel Seeks Evidence In $1M Real Estate Quagmire
A Texas appellate panel suggested Wednesday that both sides fighting about a soured real estate financing deal need to do more to make their cases, asking attorneys during oral arguments to point to evidence that either confirms or refutes the existence of a contract.
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April 10, 2024
Wash. Tribe Says $1M Fine Not Enough To Settle CWA Claims
A Washington tribe is opposing a proposed consent decree that would settle Clean Water Act claims against a hydroelectric dam operator, arguing that a $1 million penalty is vastly too low for violations of the law when the damage continues.
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April 10, 2024
Spain To Face Claim Over Nixed Uranium Processing Plant
Clean energy company Berkeley Energia Ltd. on Wednesday said it has retained Herbert Smith Freehills and the Spanish firm LCS Abogados to file an investor-state claim on its behalf against Spain after the country shut down its bid to construct a uranium processing plant in 2021.
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April 10, 2024
Spain Can't Nix €28 Million Renewables Award
Spain lost its bid to annul a €28 million ($30 million) arbitral award issued to German energy giant RWE after an international committee rejected Madrid's argument that the tribunal exceeded its powers by opting not to apply European Union law, according to a now-public decision.
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April 10, 2024
FCC Urged To Wait For BEAD Fund Awards Before 5G Auction
Small, independent cable providers want the Federal Communications Commission to hold off on a rural 5G development auction until the U.S. Department of Commerce completes its massive award of high-speed internet build-out funds.
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April 10, 2024
Rural Project Winners Say 'Harsh' Realities Justify Amnesty
Internet service providers that faced skyrocketing costs as they sought to complete federally backed broadband projects are again calling for limited relief from Federal Communications Commission penalties and a shot at future funding.
Expert Analysis
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Series
ESG Around The World: Mexico
ESG has yet to become part of the DNA of the Mexican business model, but huge strides are being made in that direction, as more stakeholders demand that companies adopt, at the least, a modicum of sustainability commitments and demonstrate how they will meet them, says Carlos Escoto at Galicia Abogados.
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The Case For Post-Bar Clerk Training Programs At Law Firms
In today's competitive legal hiring market, an intentionally designed training program for law school graduates awaiting bar admission can be an effective way of creating a pipeline of qualified candidates, says Brent Daub at Gilson Daub.
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Attorneys Have An Ethical Duty To Protect The Judiciary
The tenor of public disagreement and debate has become increasingly hostile against judges, and though the legislative branch is trying to ameliorate this safety gap, lawyers have a moral imperative and professional requirement to stand with judges in defusing attacks against them and their rulings, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.
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What NJ's Green Remediation Guidance Means For Cleanups
Recent guidance from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection promoting greener approaches to restoring contaminated sites demonstrates the state's commitment to sustainability and environmental justice — but could also entail more complexity, higher costs and longer remediation timelines, say J. Michael Showalter and Bradley Rochlen at ArentFox Schiff.
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Mo. Solar Projects Need Clarity On Enterprise Zone Tax Relief
In Missouri, enhanced enterprise zones offer tax abatements that could offset the cost of solar project infrastructure, but developers must be willing to navigate uncertainty about whether the project is classified as real property, say Lizzy McEntire and Anna Kimbrell at Husch Blackwell.
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AI Can Help Lawyers Overcome The Programming Barrier
Legal professionals without programming expertise can use generative artificial intelligence to harness the power of automation and other technology solutions to streamline their work, without the steep learning curve traditionally associated with coding, says George Zalepa at Greenberg Traurig.
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What To Expect After Colo. Nixes Special Standing Rules
Two recent Colorado Supreme Court decisions have abandoned a test to preclude standing in lawsuits challenging government decisions brought by subordinate government entities, which will likely lead to an admixture of results, including opening the door to additional legal challenges between government entities, says John Crisham at Crisham & Holman.
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What Texas Business Court Could Mean For Oil, Gas Cases
While the new business court in Texas might seem an ideal venue for the numerous oil and gas disputes litigated in that state, many of these cases may remain outside its reach under the rules governing the court's jurisdiction — at least for now, say Conrad Hester and Emily Fitzgerald at Alston & Bird.
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Preparing Law Students For A New, AI-Assisted Legal World
As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms the legal landscape, law schools must integrate technology and curricula that address AI’s innate challenges — from ethics to data security — to help students stay ahead of the curve, say Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics, Ryan Abbott at JAMS and Karen Silverman at Cantellus Group.
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Series
ESG Around The World: South Korea
Numerous ESG trends have materialized in South Korea in the past three years, with impacts ranging from greenwashing prevention and carbon neutrality measures to workplace harassment and board diversity initiatives, say Chang Wook Min and Hyun Chan Jung at Jipyong.
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General Counsel Need Data Literacy To Keep Up With AI
With the rise of accessible and powerful generative artificial intelligence solutions, it is imperative for general counsel to understand the use and application of data for myriad important activities, from evaluating the e-discovery process to monitoring compliance analytics and more, says Colin Levy at Malbek.
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Navigating Discovery Of Generative AI Information
As generative artificial intelligence tools become increasingly ubiquitous, companies must make sure to preserve generative AI data when there is reasonable expectation of litigation, and to include transcripts in litigation hold notices, as they may be relevant to discovery requests, say Nick Peterson and Corey Hauser at Wiley.
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Finding Focus: Strategies For Attorneys With ADHD
Given the prevalence of ADHD among attorneys, it is imperative that the legal community gain a better understanding of how ADHD affects well-being, and that resources and strategies exist for attorneys with this disability to manage their symptoms and achieve success, say Casey Dixon at Dixon Life Coaching and Krista Larson at Stinson.
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Biden Climate Push Expands With Contractor GHG Focus
President Joe Biden's recent announcement that federal agencies will consider contractors' greenhouse gas emissions when making procurement decisions demonstrates his administration's continued interest in using government contracting as a vehicle for reducing climate-related impacts — a theme first established in the early months of his term, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.
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House Bill Could Help Resolve 'Waters Of US' Questions
Legislation recently introduced in the U.S. House that would restore Clean Water Act protection to areas excluded from it by the U.S. Supreme Court's Sackett v. EPA decision faces an uphill battle, but could help settle the endless debates over the definition of "waters of the United States," says Richard Leland at Akerman.