http://www.law360.com/ Latest articles for organization: American Elec. Power Copyright 2009 Portfolio Media, Inc. en-US http://www.law360.com/images/headings/logo.gif http://www.law360.com/ http://www.law360.com/articles/132483 Two appellate decisions present the possibility that judges and juries, rather than legislatures and agencies, could exact a “price” on greenhouse gas emissions in the short term, either by capping prospective emissions or ordering damages for past emissions, say Jonathan W. Dettmann, Delmar R. Ehrich and Krisann Kleibacker Lee of Faegre & Benson LLP. http://www.law360.com/articles/132483 http://www.law360.com/articles/131848 Southern Co. and American Electric Power Co. Inc. will likely be among the biggest losers under a U.S. cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gases, even though their emissions are well below that of oil giants such as Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp., according to a newly released report. http://www.law360.com/articles/131848 http://www.law360.com/articles/131313 Two federal appeals court decisions that revived public nuisance suits aimed at greenhouse gas emitters could spur a flood of global warming suits, which in turn could spark fights with insurers over coverage for mounting legal costs, according to insurance lawyers. http://www.law360.com/articles/131313 http://www.law360.com/articles/131371 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has raised questions about the safety of a coal ash impoundment at American Electric Power Co.’s Philip Sporn power plant in West Virginia, calling on the energy company to perform further testing at the site. http://www.law360.com/articles/131371 http://www.law360.com/articles/129919 The Arkansas Supreme Court said Thursday it would hear a group of landowners' case about a $1.6 billion power plant being built by a subsidiary of American Electric Power Co. Inc. after a lower court ruled the state's public utilities commission improperly approved the facility. http://www.law360.com/articles/129919 http://www.law360.com/articles/128440 The groundbreaking decision in Connecticut v. American Electric Power Co. is one of several pending or recently decided cases in which parties seek to use the federal courts to attack greenhouse gas emissions. Notably, none of these other courts have definitively allowed global warming cases to proceed past the pleadings stage, say Gabrielle Sigel, Patricia L. Boye-Williams and Michael R. Strong of Jenner Block LLP. http://www.law360.com/articles/128440 http://www.law360.com/articles/128402 A new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule requires large U.S. emissions sources and major fuel suppliers to report their greenhouse gas emissions. Canada has had GHG reporting rules for some time, but there are a few key differences — particularly for companies with operations in both countries, say Kai Alderson of Fasken Martineau Dumoulin LLP and William Pedersen of Perkins Coie LLP. http://www.law360.com/articles/128402 http://www.law360.com/articles/128957 The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has revived a mass tort that accuses dozens of oil and chemical companies of adding to the ferocity of Hurricane Katrina through their emissions of greenhouse gases, a decision that comes less than a month after the Second Circuit breathed new life into a similar mass tort. http://www.law360.com/articles/128957 http://www.law360.com/articles/128820 A federal judge has dismissed a public nuisance lawsuit brought by the tiny Alaskan village of Kivalina against 24 energy and utility giants, breaking from a federal appeals court's take on whether companies can be held liable for historic greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. http://www.law360.com/articles/128820 http://www.law360.com/articles/128043 Earlier this year, we wrote about how global warming litigation has so far not turned into the “next big thing” in mass tort litigation. The ground may have moved, however, following the Second Circuit’s opinion in Connecticut v. American Electric Power Co., where the court found that such suits could proceed under the federal common law of nuisance, say Steven F. Napolitano and Lincoln Davis Wilson of Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP. http://www.law360.com/articles/128043 http://www.law360.com/articles/126585 A group of natural gas producers — including American Electric Power Co. Inc., Xcel Energy Inc. and Dynegy GP Inc. — has asked for summary judgment in a price-fixing suit filed by defunct agricultural cooperative Farmland Industries Inc., arguing that FLI wants recovery under a Kansas law that isn't available to it. http://www.law360.com/articles/126585 http://www.law360.com/articles/123666 A federal appeals court has revived a lawsuit filed by a coalition of states and environmental groups against several power companies — including American Electric Power Co. Inc., the Tennessee Valley Authority and Xcel Energy Inc. — for allegedly contributing to global warming by emitting greenhouse gases. http://www.law360.com/articles/123666 http://www.law360.com/articles/115920 California class plaintiffs in an ongoing consolidated antitrust suit alleging natural gas companies including El Paso Corp., Duke Energy Trading & Marketing LLC and Reliant Energy Inc. engaged in a conspiracy to artificially inflate prices through trading activities have asked the court for more than $3 million in attorneys’ fees in relation to six settlements. http://www.law360.com/articles/115920 http://www.law360.com/articles/115477 A federal appeals court has granted a petition for review of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s approval of a financing scheme for the construction of new high-voltage power transmission facilities serving the Mid-Atlantic region, finding that Midwestern utilities are being asked to shoulder too much of the burden. http://www.law360.com/articles/115477 http://www.law360.com/articles/113966 The Sierra Club has intervened in proceedings to consider approval of a $1.9 billion high-voltage multistate transmission line project that would bring coal-fired power to new markets in the Northeast, saying the construction will allow coal plants to ramp up dangerous emissions. http://www.law360.com/articles/113966 http://www.law360.com/articles/109387 The Clean Water Act is sorely in need of clarification regarding the extent of federal jurisdiction. The uncertainty and differing interpretations have resulted in inconsistent results and wasted resources by both the regulated community and the regulatory agencies, says Granta Y. Nakayama, a leader in Kirkland & Ellis LLP's environmental and energy practices. http://www.law360.com/articles/109387 http://www.law360.com/articles/108909 As part of a probe into the safety of coal ash storage sites in the wake of the massive Kingston, Tenn., dam burst in December, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released a list of 44 “high hazard potential” impoundments used to store fly ash. http://www.law360.com/articles/108909 http://www.law360.com/articles/104924 Judge Sonia Sotomayor has heard few environmental cases in her tenure on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, leaving open the question of how much deference she believes is owed to an agency as it interprets statutory language or engages in rulemaking. But here is what we do know, say Jason B. Hutt and Scott H. Segal of Bracewell & Giuliani LLP. http://www.law360.com/articles/104924 http://www.law360.com/articles/104301 Plaintiffs from Wisconsin have asked a judge to reconsider his decision to drop their claims against American Electric Power Co. Inc. in a consolidated antitrust suit alleging natural gas companies engaged in a conspiracy to artificially inflate prices through trading activities. http://www.law360.com/articles/104301 http://www.law360.com/articles/103938 President Obama has nominated James J. Markowsky, an energy consultant and former vice president at American Electric Power Service Corp., to serve as assistant secretary of fossil energy at the U.S. Department of Energy. http://www.law360.com/articles/103938