Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Energy
-
April 16, 2024
Activist Axes $3.6B SilverBow Merger Plan Amid Proxy Fight
New York-based asset manager Kimmeridge said Tuesday it has scrapped its March offer to create a $3.6 billion Eagle Ford shale operator by combining the assets of Kimmeridge Texas Gas with those of shale driller SilverBow Resources, stating it will now focus on getting its three nominees elected to SilverBow's board.
-
April 16, 2024
DOL Finalizes Rule To Curb Miners' Exposure To Silica Dust
A U.S. Department of Labor agency released final regulations Tuesday that tighten limits on miners' exposure to workplace silica dust, a toxic substance that increases the risk of death and chronic health conditions.
-
April 15, 2024
Structured Deposits Recalled In Ex-Ecuadorian Official's Trial
A bookkeeper testified Monday in Miami federal court that he conducted a series of structured deposits and other suspicious transactions while working at a tile company owned by the son of Ecuador's former comptroller general, who's accused of laundering millions of dollars in bribes from Brazilian conglomerate Odebrecht SA.
-
April 15, 2024
Ocean Agency Requires Cos. To Cover Well Razing Costs
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management on Monday unveiled a final rule aimed at ensuring oil and gas companies, and not taxpayers, are the ones footing the bill for decommissioning offshore wells and infrastructure.
-
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.
Expert Analysis
-
California's Offshore Turbine Plans Face Stiff Headwinds
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
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
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
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.
-
Insurers Should Prepare For 'Black Swan' Climate Disasters
As rapid climate change results in increased risk of casualties and property loss from rare, severe weather events, the insurance industry should take five crucial steps toward evolving and continuing operations, including advanced analytic techniques and investments in alternative energy sources, say Stephen Brown and Irena Maier at Wilson Elser.
-
Series
ESG Around The World: The UK
Following Brexit, the U.K. has adopted a different approach to regulating environmental, social and governance factors from the European Union — an approach that focuses on climate disclosures by U.K.-regulated entities, while steering clear of the more ambitious objectives pursued by the EU, say attorneys at Dechert.
-
Tips For Litigating Against Pro Se Parties In Complex Disputes
Litigating against self-represented parties in complex cases can pose unique challenges for attorneys, but for the most part, it requires the same skills that are useful in other cases — from documenting everything to understanding one’s ethical duties, says Bryan Ketroser at Alto Litigation.
-
Del. Dispatch: Lessons From Failed ETE-Williams Merger
Attorneys at Fried Frank delve into the Delaware Supreme Court's recent decision in Energy Transfer v. Williams to highlight the major monetary consequences of a failed merger, and show why merger agreement drafting and factual context are of utmost importance.
-
Contracts Disputes Recap: Expect Strict Application Of Rules
Zachary Jacobson and Sarah Barney at Seyfarth examine four recent cases highlighting the importance, for both contractors and government agencies, of strict compliance with the Contract Disputes Act’s jurisdictional requirements and with the Federal Acquisition Regulation's remedy-granting clauses.
-
New Initiatives Will Advance Corporate Biodiversity Reporting
Two important recent developments — the launch of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures' framework on nature and biodiversity reporting, and Nature Action 100's announcement of the 100 companies it plans to engage on biodiversity issues — will help bring biodiversity disclosures into the mainstream, say David Woodcock and Maria Banda at Gibson Dunn.
-
How Justices' Disclosure Ruling May Change Corp. Filings
In the upcoming Macquarie Infrastructure v. Moab Partners case, the U.S. Supreme Court will resolve a circuit split over whether a company may be sued for private securities fraud if they fail to disclose certain financial information in public filings, which may change the way management analyzes industry risks and trends for investors, says Paul Kisslinger at Lewis Brisbois.
-
Pro Bono Work Is Powerful Self-Help For Attorneys
Oct. 22-28 is Pro Bono Week, serving as a useful reminder that offering free legal help to the public can help attorneys expand their legal toolbox, forge community relationships and create human connections, despite the challenges of this kind of work, says Orlando Lopez at Culhane Meadows.
-
Key Terms Of European Hydrogen Bank's 2023 Pilot Auction
The European Hydrogen Bank is a meaningful step in supporting production of green hydrogen within Europe, although its first auction round may not have the financial firepower needed to make major projects happen in Europe, say attorneys at King & Spalding.
-
What US Cos. Should Know About ESG Directives In The EU
Even if U.S. companies don't fall directly within the scope of the EU's directives requiring corporate reporting on human rights and environmental impacts, which will likely be fully enacted next year, they may still be implicated if they are part of an EU business's value chain, so U.S. companies should undertake proactive steps to gain a competitive advantage, say attorneys at DLA Piper.
-
Series
Playing In A Rock Cover Band Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Performing in a classic rock cover band has driven me to hone several skills — including focus, organization and networking — that have benefited my professional development, demonstrating that taking time to follow your muse outside of work can be a boon to your career, says Michael Gambro at Cadwalader.