Practice Areas
Industries
Energy
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May 15, 2012
Tishman Seeks 2nd Circ. Knockout Of 7 WTC Liability Suit
Tishman Construction Corp. on Monday urged the Second Circuit to affirm that it can't be held liable for negligence by Consolidated Edison Co. of New York Inc. and its insurers over the collapse of 7 World Trade Center following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
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May 15, 2012
Dems Seek To Bar Tax Credits For Chinese Solar Panels
Senate Democrats introduced a bill Tuesday that would exclude Chinese-made solar panels from tax credits that support small-scale solar installations in a move designed to counter China's subsidies for its solar industry.
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May 15, 2012
4th Circ. Affirms Black Lung Benefits For Coal Miner's Widow
The Fourth Circuit on Tuesday upheld the award of black lung benefits to the widow of a former Harman Mining Co. coal miner, finding that an administrative law judge was entitled to refer to the preamble of certain regulations when evaluating a medical expert's credibility.
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May 15, 2012
Tronox Trial Opens With Tales Of Doomed-To-Fail Co.
The years-in-the-making trial between a Tronox Inc. litigation trust and former Tronox parent Kerr-McGee Corp. kicked off Tuesday in New York bankruptcy court, with attorneys for both sides sparring over whether a 2006 spinoff of the debtor constituted a fraudulent transfer.
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May 15, 2012
PE-Backed Group Bids $1.25B For Aussie Pipeline Co.
The battle for Australian gas pipeline owner Hastings Diversified Utilities Fund Ltd. heated up Tuesday, when a private equity-backed investor group offered $1.25 billion in cash, one-upping an offer from rival pipeline owner APA Group.
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May 15, 2012
Enviros Try To Sink Seismic Oil Exploration Plans In Alaska
An Alaskan tribe and two environmental groups on Tuesday sued the National Marine Fisheries Service for allegedly violating the Marine Mammal Protection Act by approving high-intensity seismic oil and gas exploration in Cook Inlet, Alaska, without proper environmental reviews.
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May 15, 2012
AES Rips Utility For Protesting $240M Power Plant Sale
Bankrupt AES Eastern Energy LP accused a New York utility on Monday of improperly taking a contract dispute with the company to regulators weighing approval of the $240 million sale of AES' two operating power plants.
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May 15, 2012
Enviro Groups Seek To Stop NextEra Wind Farm
Three environmental groups asked a California federal court on Monday to temporarily halt work on a wind farm under construction by a NextEra Energy Inc. subsidiary, as they continue to pursue their challenge of permits granted by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
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May 15, 2012
$3B Texas Coal Plant In Jeopardy Over Air Pollution Claims
A Texas state judge on Monday indicated that he would reverse the approval of a $3 billion, 1,300-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Corpus Christi, which environmental groups have claimed would create more air pollution than the state had evaluated.
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May 15, 2012
Uranium Energy Picks Up Texas Exploration Project
Private equity-backed mining company Uranium Energy Corp. is buying up a 10,704-acre exploration project in South Texas as part of a larger corporate effort to become a major player in its industry, it said Tuesday.
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May 15, 2012
House Dems Home In On Gas Flaring Regulations
Three Democrats on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce said Monday that natural gas produced as a byproduct of oil drilling was being wastefully burned off due to lax regulation and lack of incentives, and called for Congress to investigate the issues.
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May 15, 2012
Crestview Drops $100M For 50% Stake In Texas-Aimed Driller
Crestview Partners LLC on Tuesday became the latest private equity firm to double down on U.S. energy, committing $100 million to Silver Creek Oil & Gas LLC, a newly launched driller building up acreage across the Sun Belt.
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May 15, 2012
KEPCO's Nigerian Projects On Hold After Court Ruling
A ruling by the Nigerian Court of Appeals in a complex contract dispute has left Korea Power and Electric Corp.'s oil production and electricity projects in the country on hold, according to a regulatory filing Tuesday.
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May 15, 2012
Energy Marketer Faces Class Action Over Unsolicited Fax Ads
An industrial safety equipment company on Monday hit energy marketing firm Vanguard Energy Services LLC and two affiliates with a putative class action in Illinois federal court, accusing the marketers of faxing out unsolicited advertisements in violation of federal law.
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May 15, 2012
Shut Up And Drill, Interior Tells Oil And Gas Cos.
The Obama administration released a special report Tuesday showing that most federal oil and natural gas leases remain idle, pushing back against Republican and industry claims that the president's energy policies have stymied production on federal lands.
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May 15, 2012
Biofuels Co. Says PE Firm Skipped Out On $7M Funding Deal
Renewables company Pleasant Valley Biofuels LLC on Sunday accused private equity firm Quest Capital Finance Inc. and an affiliated law firm of shortchanging it on $7 million in promised financing, withheld even after collecting Pleasant Valley's quarter-million-dollar deposit.
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May 15, 2012
Halliburton Pushes To Keep Fracking Formulas Secret In Wyo.
Halliburton Energy Services Inc. urged a Wyoming state court Monday to uphold public disclosure exemptions for the oil and gas giant's hydraulic fracturing formulas, warning a bid by local citizens' groups to uncover the information could hamstring project development efforts in the state.
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May 15, 2012
Panel OKs Calif. Bill For CPUC To Review US Safety Guidance
A bill requiring the California Public Utilities Commission to consider safety recommendations by a federal transportation agency in order to prevent incidents like the fatal 2010 gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno cleared a state Senate panel on Tuesday.
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May 15, 2012
Blackstone Bets $1.5B On Cheniere's LNG Export Plans
The Blackstone Group LP will buy $1.5 billion in stock units at a discount from Cheniere Energy Partners LP, locking in the final piece of financing for Cheniere's plans to export U.S. shale gas, according to deal terms announced Tuesday.
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May 15, 2012
Suntech Hammers Out 120-MW Sales Deal With Distributor
Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd., a top solar panel manufacturer, has inked an agreement to furnish up to 120 megawatts' worth of solar panels to distributor Krannich Solar Inc. this year, Suntech said Tuesday.
Expert Analysis
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In-License Agreements With Nonprofits: 5 Considerations
Many of the most profitable technologies being developed and commercialized by tech companies — particularly in the areas of life sciences and clean technology — were initially developed by nonprofit institutions. There are five often overlooked issues that should be considered by a company when negotiating an in-license agreement with nonprofits, say attorneys with Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo PC.
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Iran, Sanctions And Oil — A Global Update
Europe's July 1 oil embargo as well as U.S. and European financial sanctions prompted by Iran's nuclear program have seen Tehran's oil sales drop to most Western destinations, and drawn promises from some Asian buyers that they will cut purchases, says Nigel Kushner of Whale Rock Legal Ltd.
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Addressing Corporate Liability Under The TVPA, ATS
After hearing argument in two cases that have far-reaching implications for corporations doing business in politically volatile regions, the U.S. Supreme Court has determined in one case that corporations are not liable under the Torture Victim Protection Act — but it left open for exploration whether the Alien Tort Statute can or should be used as a vehicle for litigating alleged wrongdoing occurring in foreign countries, say Timothy Nelson and Jennifer Spaziano of Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP.
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Sackett: Implications For Pre-Enforcement Review
The U.S. Supreme Court's opinion language in Sackett v. the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will invite future constitutional challenges to Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act §106 unilateral orders, and could set precedent for successful Administrative Procedures Act challenges to EPA orders under other environmental statutes, say John Eldridge and Megan Bibb of Haynes and Boone LLP.
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Circuit Split? Mirant Vs. Adelphia
The Fifth Circuit decision in In re Mirant Corp. appears to be in direct conflict with Adelphia Recovery Trust v. Bank of America NA, but a closer analysis reveals that the two decisions are reconcilable. Unfortunately, the court in Mirant adopted legal conclusions without much analysis — or any mention of the analysis provided by Adelphia — making the status of this area of law unclear, says Vincent Roldan of Vandenberg & Feliu LLP.
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A 1st For Fracking: EPA's Air Emissions Regulations
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued a final rule regulating the emission of volatile organic compounds and certain other pollutants emitted by hydraulic fracturing, marking the first time that the EPA will regulate air emissions from fracking operations. The rule is likely a harbinger of further greenhouse gas regulation of the upstream and midstream oil and gas industries, say attorneys with Latham & Watkins LLP.
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FWS's 'Eagle' Eye On Renewable Energy Development
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has issued a proposed rule to extend programmatic eagle take permits for up to 30 years to accommodate the development of renewable energy projects. While this step raises concerns that the number of eagles taken will increase significantly, the benefits of the proposed permit changes by the FWS outweigh any burdens to the environment, say attorneys with Perkins Coie LLP.
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Where Rubber Hits Road: Examples Of Alternative Fees
Creating new approaches to fee agreements is something to embrace rather than fear — and when structured and managed correctly, it can be financially advantageous. Take, for example, fixed-fee arrangements, result-based billing and portfolio billing, say Bill Rudnick and Keith Maziarek of DLA Piper.
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State Of The Tax Equity Market: Part 2
Picking up where part 1 of this series left off, a group of veteran tax equity investors — including managing directors at Bank of America, JPMorgan Capital Corp., Citigroup, Credit Suisse and consultancy CP Energy — continue discussing the state of the wind energy market. Moderated by Keith Martin of Chadbourne & Parke LLP, part 2 of this discussion covers deal structures, layers of capital and pay-go structures.
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In Pa., 'Good Faith' Determines 'In Paying Quantities'
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has issued a long-awaited decision in T.W. Phillips Gas & Oil Co. v. Jedlicka, reaffirming that the determination of whether a well is producing "in paying quantities" is to be made "with reference to an operator's good faith judgment." Importantly, the burden of proof and persuasion is on the lessor to establish a lack of good faith on the part of the lessee, say attorneys with Fulbright & Jaworski International LLP.