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Energy
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May 09, 2024
Insurer Still Can't Escape Explosion Coverage Row
An insurer cannot yet avoid defending gas companies in personal injury litigation after a subcontractor caused an explosion injuring three people, an Indiana federal court has ruled, reiterating a previous finding that the subcontractor's ultimate release from liability following a settlement has no bearing on the gas companies' additional insured status.
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May 09, 2024
GE Dropped From Louisiana Factory Contamination Suit
A Louisiana federal judge has dropped General Electric from property owners' suit alleging widespread contamination caused by a now-closed manufacturing facility, finding an earlier merger by a subsidiary did not make the company a liable successor.
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May 09, 2024
Del. Supreme Court Rejects Mid-Case Appeals In Oil Harm Suit
Observing a mid-case appeal would "further complicate and delay an already complex litigation," Delaware's Supreme Court has refused to review claims dismissed or retained in an ongoing, potential landmark suit seeking state-level damages for fossil-fuel company emissions tied to climate change.
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May 09, 2024
FTC's Exxon-Pioneer Nod Sets New Tone For Oil & Gas M&A
The close of Exxon Mobil Corp.'s $60 billion purchase of Pioneer Natural Resources shows that even the largest oil and gas deals can overcome heavy regulatory and political scrutiny, but an agreement Exxon struck with the Federal Trade Commission puts other energy companies pursuing deals on notice about their public communications.
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May 08, 2024
BIA Tells 8th Circ. Energy Co. Can't Revive Lease Suit
The U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs has asked the Eighth Circuit to uphold a North Dakota federal judge's dismissal of Prima Exploration Inc.'s oil and gas lease termination suit, saying the lower court correctly dismissed the case for failure to exhaust administrative remedies.
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May 08, 2024
Hawaii Utility Seeks Exit From Shareholder Suit Over Maui Fire
Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. has asked a California federal judge to toss an investor suit over a downturn in the company's stock price after a deadly fire broke out on Maui, saying it did not mislead investors about efforts to mitigate fire risk or completely outrule the risk of fire.
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May 08, 2024
6th Circ. Questions FERC's Moves On Ohio Utility Grid Perk
A Sixth Circuit panel on Wednesday questioned the role of a rate perk given to transmission companies for choosing to join a regional transmission organization as it weighed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's decision to yank the incentive for several Ohio utilities while preserving it for others.
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May 08, 2024
Tesla Slams Class Bid For Musk Shares Lockdown In Del.
Attorneys for Elon Musk and Tesla Inc. and its board have blasted class attorney motions to sequester billions worth of the automotive company's shares as an improper attempt to shield a nonfinal court ruling on Musk's 10-year compensation plan and as potential interference in a Tesla bid to reincorporate in Texas.
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May 08, 2024
Fed. Circ. Denies Siemens' Bid For Navy Energy Audit Costs
The Federal Circuit ruled Wednesday that the U.S. Navy doesn't owe a Siemens unit $5.7 million for costs the company incurred to investigate potential energy savings measures at two military installations, saying a related contract clearly didn't cover those costs.
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May 08, 2024
GAO Backs DLA's Sole-Source Fuel Deal With Iraqi Contractor
The U.S. Government Accountability Office has dismissed a Virginia company's protest of a jet fuel contract the Defense Logistics Agency awarded to an Iraqi competitor, saying the protester's challenge of the deal was based on factual inaccuracies.
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May 08, 2024
4th Circ. Says Purpose Of Inmate Labor Affects Classification
The primary purpose of prisoners' work at a Baltimore County recycling plant should determine whether a group of incarcerated people were employees under federal law, a Fourth Circuit panel ruled Wednesday, rejecting the county's view that any amount of rehabilitative-oriented work spared it from minimum wage obligations.
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May 08, 2024
Auto Cos. Brace For EV Battery Compliance Hurdles
New federal regulations aimed at shoring up the domestic electric vehicle manufacturing supply chain give automakers a much-needed two-year cushion to navigate a compliance minefield, and to figure out how to reinvigorate the recent waning consumer demand for electric vehicles.
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May 08, 2024
Oil Field Workers File Proposed Class Suit Over Unpaid Wages
Three oil field workers have slapped their employers with a proposed collective and class action in Texas federal court accusing the companies of failing to pay overtime and straight-time wages to hourly, day rate and salaried workers in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
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May 08, 2024
Chevron's $52M Iran Oil Seizure Loss Not Covered, Court Told
Three insurers have told a California federal court they owe no coverage to Chevron under separate marine cargo and war risks policies after the oil giant said the Iranian military seized a vessel carrying nearly $52 million worth of Chevron's crude oil in retaliation for U.S. economic sanctions.
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May 08, 2024
DOE Unveils Preliminary National Transmission Corridors List
The U.S. Department of Energy unveiled Wednesday a preliminary list of 10 national interest electric transmission corridors as part of its plan to accelerate the development of transmission projects in areas with urgent need for expanded capacity.
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May 07, 2024
Climate Cases Haven't Hurt Oil, Gas Credit Quality, S&P Says
Climate change litigation has skyrocketed over the past 10 years, increasing climate litigation risk, but the credit quality of the oil and gas sector has remained unaffected, S&P Global Ratings concluded in a report published Tuesday.
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May 07, 2024
Federal Courts Choosing To Stay Out Of Texas Grid Fights
The Fifth Circuit has again refused to wade into fights over actions taken by Texas' grid operator during a 2021 winter storm, further underscoring federal courts' reluctance to disturb the historic independence of the Lone Star State's electricity sector, attorneys say.
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May 07, 2024
Bloom Energy Gets Final OK For $3M Settlement Over IPO
A California federal judge has granted final approval to a $3 million settlement between Bloom Energy Corp. and investors to resolve claims that the company, its leadership and underwriters for its initial public offering misrepresented or omitted key information in the IPO registration statement.
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May 07, 2024
Uniper Looks To Nix Russian Court's Anti-Arbitration Order
German energy company Uniper has appealed a Russian court ruling threatening a multibillion euro fine if it continues to pursue an arbitration claim in Sweden that accuses the Russian company Gazprom of reneging on a contract to deliver gas, the company said Tuesday.
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May 07, 2024
Duke Energy Rival Stresses Holistic View Of Monopoly Suit
Duke Energy's contract snub and price drops reveal a bid to monopolize the North Carolina market when the conduct is viewed holistically rather than in piecemeal fashion, a rival told the Fourth Circuit on Tuesday in an attempt to revive antitrust claims.
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May 07, 2024
Venable Trade Co-Chair Shares Hot Takes On US Steel-Nippon
Back in December, Venable LLP partner Ashley Craig, co-chair of the firm's international trade group, spoke with Law360 just after U.S. Steel disclosed its agreement to be sold to Nippon Steel. Now, he shares his thoughts on the latest developments, including the White House coming out forcefully against the deal and the U.S. Department of Justice launching a probe into it.
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May 07, 2024
PolyMet Land Swap Discovery Order Paused, For Now
PolyMet Mining doesn't have to produce information it had previously withheld in a Minnesota tribe's challenge to undo a land swap, a federal district court determined after the company asked for emergency relief to avoid any potential harm it said could come from wrongfully disclosing privileged documentation.
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May 07, 2024
Shell Violated Order By Refusing Docs, Enviro Group Says
Shell Oil Co. violated a federal court order and civil procedure rules by raising "artificially restrictive and hypertechnical interpretations" of discovery demands in a Conservation Law Foundation Inc. lawsuit over the petroleum producer's preparedness for floods, the environmental watchdog group has told a Connecticut judge.
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May 07, 2024
Top Dem Cuts Cuellar Slack Not Given Santos, Menendez
House Democratic leadership has continued its defense of Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, following the recent bribery indictment against him and his wife, saying the situation is different from the indictments last year against Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., and Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J.
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May 07, 2024
Energy Dept. Says Red States Can't Block LNG Export Pause
The U.S. Department of Energy has asked a Louisiana federal judge to toss a group of Republican-led states' lawsuit challenging a pause on reviewing applications to export liquefied natural gas to non-free trade agreement countries, saying the states have created a "false narrative" about the move.
Expert Analysis
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Opinion
Farm Bill Gives Congress 2024's Biggest Enviro Opportunity
A new Farm Bill, which Congress hopes to get out before mid-2024, is the main legislative opportunity to accelerate the adoption of environmentally friendly practices, as the major environmental laws have been interpreted largely to exempt agriculture from pollution standards that other industries must meet, say Peter Lehner and Carrie Apfel at Earthjustice.
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What To Expect From High Court In Corp. Disclosure Case
Oral argument in Macquarie v. Moab Partners — a case with the potential to significantly alter corporate disclosures and private securities litigation liability — suggests that the U.S. Supreme Court is focused on answering the narrow question presented, say Elizabeth Gingold Clark and Madeleine Juszynski Davidson at Alston & Bird.
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After Watershed Year, Clean Hydrogen Faces New Challenges
Clean hydrogen is on the verge of taking off — but over the course of 2023, it became clear that the regulatory landscape will be more stringent than expected, and the cost and timing of major projects will depend on a number of key developments anticipated in 2024, say attorneys at Weil.
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A Potential Proactive Tool For Public-Private Joint Ventures
In the current environment of heightened antitrust enforcement, the National Cooperative Research and Production Act seems tailor-made for the collaborative work among competitors encouraged by the Biden administration's infrastructure and green energy funding legislation, say Jeetander Dulani and Susan Ebner at Stinson.
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Will Justices Settle Decades-Old Split On Arbitrator Conflicts?
Whether an arbitrator's failure to disclose a potential conflict of interest is sufficient grounds to vacate an arbitration award is the subject of an almost 60-year-old circuit split that the U.S. Supreme Court is positioned to resolve if it grants cert in either of two writs pending before it, say attorneys at Norton Rose.
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FERC Actions Signal Concern Over Investors' Utility Stakes
Two recent orders and a notice of inquiry from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on the subject of whether large investors are asserting control of public utilities signal increasing regulatory scrutiny of the investment community's influence over the electric power industry, say attorneys at Day Pitney.
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3 Areas Of Focus In Congressional Crosshairs This Year
Companies must prepare for Congress to build on its 2023 oversight priorities this year, continuing its vigorous inquiries into Chinese company-related investments, workplace safety and labor relations issues, and generative artificial intelligence, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Protections May Exist For Cos. Affected By Red Sea Attacks
Companies whose ships or cargo have been affected by the evolving military conflict in the Red Sea, and the countries under whose flags those ships were traveling, may be able to seek redress through legal action against Yemen or Iran under certain international law mechanisms, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.
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What's On Tap For Public Corruption Prosecutions In 2024
All signs point toward another year of blockbuster public corruption prosecutions in 2024, revealing broader trends in enforcement and jurisprudence, and promising valuable lessons for defense strategy, says Kenneth Notter at MoloLamken.
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Global Cartel Enforcement Looks Set To Intensify In 2024
The cartel enforcement winds may strengthen this year, with the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as regulators in other countries, placing a renewed focus on pursuing international cartels and more traditional, hard-core cartel conduct, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.
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Series
Baking Bread Makes Me A Better Lawyer
After many years practicing law, and a few years baking bread, I have learned that there are a few keys to success in both endeavors, including the assembly of a nourishing and resilient culture, and the ability to learn from failure and exercise patience, says Rick Robinson at Reed Smith.
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Federal Courts And AI Standing Orders: Safety Or Overkill?
Several district court judges have issued standing orders regulating the use of artificial intelligence in their courts, but courts should consider following ordinary notice and comment procedures before implementing sweeping mandates that could be unnecessarily burdensome and counterproductive, say attorneys at Curtis.
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The 5 Most Important Bid Protest Decisions Of 2023
Attorneys at Bradley Arant discuss noteworthy 2023 bid protest decisions from the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and U.S. Government Accountability Office, offering perspectives on standing, document production, agency deference, System for Award Management registration requirements and mentor-protégé joint venture proposal evaluations.
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7 E-Discovery Predictions For 2024 And Beyond
The legal and technical issues of e-discovery now affect virtually every lawsuit, and in the year to come, practitioners can expect practices and policies to evolve in a number of ways, from the expanded use of relevancy redactions to mandated information security provisions in protective orders, say attorneys at Littler.
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Securities Class Actions Show No Signs of Slowing In 2024
Plaintiffs asserted securities class actions at elevated levels in 2023 — a sign that filings will remain high in the year ahead — as they switched gears to target companies that allegedly have failed to anticipate supply chain disruptions, persistent inflation, rising interest rates and other macroeconomic headwinds, say attorneys at Skadden.