Energy

  • April 15, 2024

    Justices Leave Lower Courts To Parse Corporate 'Half-Truths'

    A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that corporate silence isn't enough to form the basis of a securities fraud suit pointedly declined to wade into the question of what counts as a "half-truth," leaving it to lower courts to wrestle with which corporate statements are blurry enough to sustain a shareholder class action.

  • April 15, 2024

    Coal Exec's Widow Seeks Atty Fees After Toss Of $6.5B Suit

    The widow of a bankrupt coal company's former president requested $525,000 in attorney fees and costs Monday after a D.C. federal judge tossed a suit alleging her husband's estate and another business owed a union pension plan $6.5 billion, saying the plan's trustees can afford to pay.

  • 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.

  • April 15, 2024

    Solar Power Co. Accuses Ex-Insider Of Building, Selling Rival

    Delaware-chartered solar energy venture Volt Energy Utility LLC has sued a former top officer in Chancery Court, alleging that while employed by Volt, she secretly launched a competing company, contacted Volt's lenders and customers and then sold the new business to a wholly owned subsidiary of Tokyo Gas Co. Ltd. for $216 million.

  • April 15, 2024

    NH Power Plant Co. Can Send Dual-Path Ch. 11 Plan To A Vote

    The operator of a New Hampshire power plant fueled by scrap wood can seek creditors' approval of its Chapter 11 proposal, through which the debtor would either sell its assets or hand ownership of the reorganized business to lenders, a Delaware bankruptcy judge ruled Monday.

  • April 15, 2024

    Power Seller Presses 5th Circ. To Uphold $25M Contract Win

    An electricity seller on Friday told the Fifth Circuit that a lower court got it right when it awarded more than $25 million in a contract fight with a power trader over electricity price-hedging deals that sustained heavy losses during 2021's Winter Storm Uri.

  • April 15, 2024

    UK Trading Platform Marex Eyes US Markets For $300M IPO

    Private equity-backed U.K. trading platform Marex Group PLC launched plans Monday for an estimated $300 million initial public offering, represented by Latham & Watkins LLP and underwriters' counsel Kirkland & Ellis LLP, becoming the latest U.K.-area firm to seek capital from U.S. markets.

  • April 15, 2024

    Watson Farley Hires 2 Singapore Partners From McDermott

    Watson Farley & Williams LLP has tapped two energy lawyers from McDermott Will & Emery LLP to serve as partners in the global law firm's Singapore office, saying they bring broad expertise in advising a range of Asia-Pacific clients on project development in power and renewables.

  • April 15, 2024

    4th Circ. Upholds W.Va.'s Win In Coal Mine Cleanup Suit

    The Fourth Circuit on Monday affirmed a West Virginia federal court's order ending developers' allegations that the state's environmental regulators' reclamation efforts at an old coal mining site constituted illegal dumping, finding the lower court correctly concluded the efforts are exempt from regulations prohibiting open dumps.

  • 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.

  • April 15, 2024

    Naftogaz Urges Court To Uphold $5B Award Against Russia

    Ukraine's state-owned oil company has hit back at Russia's bid in D.C. federal court to toss its attempt to enforce a $5 billion arbitral award it won after its Crimean assets were seized following Russia's annexation of the peninsula, saying the court has jurisdiction over the case.

  • April 15, 2024

    Republican AGs Ask 5th Circ. To Knock Out DOL Rule For ESG

    A group of Republican-led states have urged the Fifth Circuit to scrap a U.S. Department of Labor rule allowing retirement advisers to consider social and political issues when choosing investments, arguing that the agency is flouting protections set in stone by federal benefits law.

  • April 15, 2024

    2nd Circ. Affirms Telecom Co.'s $13M Union Pension Bill

    The Second Circuit upheld a New York federal court's determination that a telecommunications company owed $13 million in withdrawal liability to a multiemployer pension plan for electrical and contract workers, agreeing Monday with an arbitrator's finding that a construction industry exception didn't apply to the disputed work.

  • April 15, 2024

    EQT To Swap $500M Of Gas Assets As Part Of Divestiture Plan

    EQT Corp. and Equinor said Monday that they have agreed to an asset swap arrangement that will include Equinor paying $500 million in cash for a minority stake in EQT's nonoperated natural gas assets in Northeast Pennsylvania, part of a broader EQT strategy to divest assets and reduce debt ahead of its planned close of an energy mega-deal. 

  • April 15, 2024

    Simpson Thacher Corporate Pro Rejoins Weil In Houston

    Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP announced Monday that it has welcomed back an infrastructure lawyer who has rejoined the firm in Houston after six years with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP.

  • April 15, 2024

    EPA Won't Cut Stationary Combustion Turbines From CAA

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday rejected a petition filed by energy industry groups looking to remove stationary combustion turbines from the list of sources subject to regulation for emissions of air toxics.

  • April 15, 2024

    Italian Cable Giant Prysmian Buying Encore Wire For $4.2B

    Milan-based electric cabling manufacturer Prysmian said Monday it has agreed to purchase McKinney, Texas-based Encore Wire in a transaction with an approximately $4.2 billion enterprise value.

  • April 12, 2024

    Split PTAB Panel Upholds QinetiQ Fracking Patent

    A British defense contractor successfully fought off a legal challenge surrounding its patent covering a fracking device, in a ruling from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that was split three ways over the matter.

  • April 12, 2024

    Chamber Defends SEC Climate Regs From Enviros' Challenge

    The U.S. Chamber of Commerce wants to help defend the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission against legal challenges environmental groups have brought over its climate disclosure regulations, even after the business group sued the regulator in March to have the rules nixed.

  • April 12, 2024

    Feds Must Rethink Erasing Aluminum Duty After Refund Issue

    The U.S. Department of Commerce must reconsider expanding a duty refund to wipe out a Turkish aluminum importer's anti-dumping tariff, after the U.S. Court of International Trade found that officials applied the refund to ineligible imports.

  • April 12, 2024

    Crash Victim's Family Wins $38M Verdict Against Oncor

    A Texas jury has handed a $37.5 million verdict to the family of a man who died in a crash involving an Oncor driver, coming to its decision after reviewing evidence that showed the driver for the electric utility was distracted behind the wheel and never hit the brakes.

  • April 12, 2024

    Ocean Energy Co. Thwarting Shareholder Vote, Investor Says

    An investor that has been trying for nearly a year to nominate an alternative slate of directors for the board of an offshore renewable energy company sued in Delaware's Court of Chancery late Thursday, alleging the company and its management have been scheming to prevent a fair stockholder vote.

  • 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.

  • April 12, 2024

    DOJ Must Cut Through Political Noise In US Steel Probe

    The U.S. Department of Justice has its work cut out for it as it conducts a probe of Nippon Steel's planned $14.9 billion takeover of U.S. Steel, a potentially drawn out process that experts say will test the antitrust division's ability to remain objective in the face of immense pressure from President Biden, an influential union, and a concurrent CFIUS review. 

  • 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.

Expert Analysis

  • Del. Dispatch: Refining M&A Terms After Twitter Investor Suit

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    The Delaware Court of Chancery's recent decision in Crispo v. Musk — invalidating a merger agreement provision that has been commonly used to disincentivize buyers from wrongful merger termination — should cause target companies to consider new approaches to ensure the payment of lost premium damages, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

  • Navigating Discovery Of Generative AI Information

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    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.

  • Finding Focus: Strategies For Attorneys With ADHD

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    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.

  • Biden Climate Push Expands With Contractor GHG Focus

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    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.

  • Key Shifts In EU, UK Emissions Credits: Challenges For Cos.

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    An upcoming deadline to apply for free carbon dioxide emissions allowances in the European Union, and a reduction in the supply of similar allowances in the U.K., are likely to increase competition for allowances, and cause production, supply chain and contract issues for companies, say attorneys at Orrick.

  • How Shareholder Activists Are Targeting Insurers

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    As shareholder activists take a closer look at the insurance industry, they are pushing insurers to take value-enhancing and climate-related measures — but insurers can prepare by anticipating activist concerns, maintaining robust shareholder engagement, and considering changes in response to the universal proxy rules, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Takeaways From Iran Missile Procurement Advisory

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    Companies should familiarize themselves with the entities and practices highlighted in the recent multiagency Iran Ballistic Missile Procurement Advisory, to avoid falling prey to deceptive practices that help bad actors evade sanctions, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • New CFTC Enforcement Policy May Finally Deter Recidivists

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    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s recently announced policies designed to crack down on market misconduct recidivists may finally raise the stakes enough to motivate institutions to improve their compliance infrastructure, say Dan Chirlin and Marc Armas at Walden Macht.

  • House Bill Could Help Resolve 'Waters Of US' Questions

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    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.

  • 8 Tips On Mining Disclosures For Foreign Issuers

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has issued dozens of comment letters in the years since adopting new disclosure requirements for mining issuers, reflecting continued scrutiny of foreign issuers’ filings, but several key pointers can help companies navigate the requirements, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.

  • Calif. Climate Disclosure Laws: Next Steps For Companies

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    A trio of new climate disclosure laws in California will impose far-reaching corporate reporting requirements — so companies doing business in the state must immediately begin working to substantiate their climate claims and update marketing materials, and consider getting involved in rulemaking that will shape the legislation's impact, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • California's Offshore Turbine Plans Face Stiff Headwinds

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    To realize its innovative plans for floating offshore wind farms, California will face numerous challenges as companies investing in the industry will be looking for permitting transparency, predictable timelines, and meaningful coordination between jurisdictions, agencies, and stakeholders, say David Smith and David McGrath at Manatt.

  • Attorneys, Law Schools Must Adapt To New Era Of Evidence

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    Technological advancements mean more direct evidence is being created than ever before, and attorneys as well as law schools must modify their methods to account for new challenges in how this evidence is collected and used to try cases, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Why Public Cos. Should Also Comply With SEC's Names Rule

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    While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's updated Names Rule specifically clarifies that funds must consider ESG factors in their investment strategies if their names so imply, public companies should also heed the message and conduct business consistent with the way they market or advertise themselves, says Spencer Feldman at Olshan Frome.

  • The Growing Need For FLSA Private Settlement Rule Clarity

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    A Pennsylvania district court's recent ruling in Walker v. Marathon Petroleum echoes an interesting and growing trend of jurists questioning the need for — and legality of — judicial approval of private Fair Labor Standards Act settlements, which provides more options for parties to efficiently resolve their claims, says Rachael Coe at Moore & Van Allen.

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