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Energy
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April 09, 2024
What's In The Norfolk Southern $600M Derailment Deal
Last year's fiery Norfolk Southern train derailment and toxic chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio, reached a litigation milestone Tuesday with the disaster's first major settlement, a proposed $600 million deal with nearby residents and businesses, but the rail giant must still contend with a federal investigation and other lawsuits.
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April 09, 2024
Hawaiian Electric Brass Hit With Suit Over Wildfire Preparation
A Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. shareholder has alleged in a derivative suit that the company's executives and directors knew that it was not prepared for last year's deadly Maui wildfire, which caused reputational and financial damage to the company.
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April 09, 2024
Navajo, Mine Operator Look To Settle Last Waste Spill Claims
A New Mexico federal judge has stayed litigation in the Navajo Nation's remaining claims against a Gold King Mine operator stemming from a hazardous waste spill that spurred nearly a decade of litigation after the parties said they reached a settlement in principle.
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April 09, 2024
Nikola Investors' SPAC Fraud Suit Moves Ahead
Board directors of electric truck maker Nikola Corp. and the blank-check company that took it public for $3.3 billion in 2020 must face shareholders' derivative claims of insider trading, securities fraud and merger-related breaches after Delaware's Court of Chancery on Tuesday denied more than half of the defense's motions to dismiss.
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April 09, 2024
Contractor Says Corruption Claims In $47M Army Fight Are False
An Afghanistan-based fuel supplier seeking $47.2 million after the U.S. Army terminated two contracts has urged the Court of Federal Claims to reject government allegations that the company was involved in a corruption scheme, saying those arguments were inaccurate and irrelevant.
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April 09, 2024
Equitrans Hit With $1.1M Pollution Penalties In Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection unveiled more than $1.1 million in civil penalties against Equitrans Midstream Partners LP on Tuesday for violations related to the company's uncontrolled gas release from its Rager Mountain natural gas storage field in Cambria County.
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April 09, 2024
4th Circ. Tosses Duty To Defend Case Over Oil Co.'s Objection
The Fourth Circuit said Tuesday that a West Virginia oil and gas company lacked standing to continue an appeal that was originally brought by a green grower, which had sought coverage from its insurer for an underlying $4 million land use dispute with the extractor.
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April 09, 2024
FTC Pressures Global Partners, Gulf Oil Into Reducing Deal
The Federal Trade Commission took credit Tuesday for raising antitrust concerns spurring the late-February reduction of Global Partners LP's purchase of Northeast U.S. gas terminals from Gulf Oil, cut from five terminals with a $273 million price tag to four terminals and a $212.3 million payment.
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April 09, 2024
Tech M&A Reigns Supreme In Q1 After Rare Hiccup In Q4
The technology sector logged the greatest total value of global mergers and acquisitions in the first quarter of 2024, following a rare quarter that saw the industry fall out of the top spot and into third place, data from Dealogic shows.
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April 09, 2024
Crypto Mining CEO's Asset Freeze Fight Axed At 11th Circ.
An Eleventh Circuit panel has rejected a bid to lift an asset freeze by a man accused of running a crypto mining scheme, ruling U.S. financial industry regulators did not have to formally serve him before asking a court to block activity in his financial accounts.
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April 09, 2024
House GOP To Air Measure Rejecting SEC Climate Rule
The U.S. House of Representatives' Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing Wednesday morning addressing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate disclosure rules, where a leading Republican member of the committee is expected to put forth a resolution that would nullify the rules.
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April 09, 2024
47 Members Of Congress Urge DC Circ. To Ax EPA Smog Plan
Nearly 50 members of Congress called on the D.C. Circuit to strike down the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's plan to reduce smog-forming emissions in several states, arguing that the agency is infringing on states' authority to establish how they achieve federal air quality standards.
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April 09, 2024
Hogan Lovells Adds Baker Botts Enviro Litigators In DC, SF
Hogan Lovells announced Tuesday it has hired three environmental crisis and white collar attorneys from Baker Botts LLP to bolster efforts to steer clients through criminal environmental and workplace safety investigations and other matters.
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April 09, 2024
Locke Lord Slams 'Faulty' Stance On Malpractice Row Venue
Texas-based Locke Lord LLP has objected to an oil company's expert affidavit filed amid a malpractice suit alleging the firm and its former attorney bungled a transaction involving a North Dakota oil refinery project, redoubling its argument that New Jersey state court is not a proper venue for the complaint.
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April 09, 2024
Venezuelan Oil Co. Gets $2B Bond Fraud Suit Nixed In NY
A New York federal judge has nixed VR Capital's lawsuit accusing Venezuela's state-owned oil company of fraud in connection with its issuance of some $2 billion in since-defaulted bonds, ruling that the asset manager couldn't prove that PDVSA had never intended to repay the bonds.
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April 09, 2024
California Can Set Own Emissions Standards, DC Circ. Says
The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday upheld the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Air Act waiver that allows California to set its own greenhouse gas emissions standards for vehicles and run a zero-emission vehicles program, rejecting challenges filed by red states and industry groups.
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April 09, 2024
Latham Adds Allen & Overy Energy And Finance Pro In Calif.
Latham & Watkins LLP is growing its energy team, bringing in an Allen & Overy LLP finance pro as a partner in its Century City office in Los Angeles.
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April 08, 2024
W.Va. Blocks Citi, HSBC, Others Over Fossil Fuel 'Boycotts'
West Virginia's state treasurer announced Monday that Citigroup Inc., HSBC Holdings PLC, TD Bank NA and The Northern Trust Co. are ineligible for state banking contracts, finding they boycott fossil fuel companies under a Mountain State law, while two other banks escaped such a designation.
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April 08, 2024
Convicted CEO Wants Utility To Fund Defense Through Appeal
The former CEO of the Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative urged a federal judge on Monday to order the organization to cover his legal expenses while he appeals his conviction for stealing public funds and prepares for a trial in yet another criminal case.
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April 08, 2024
Southwest Gas Unit Centuri Eyes Spinoff Through $242M IPO
Southwest Gas Holdings Inc.'s infrastructure services unit Centuri Holdings Inc. on Monday unveiled terms for an estimated $242 million initial public offering that would lead to Centuri becoming a standalone public company, represented by Morrison Foerster LLP and underwriters' counsel Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP.
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April 08, 2024
Group Says US Oil-Drilling Policy Harms Protected Species
An environmental group sued the U.S. government Monday in District of Columbia federal court, accusing it of violating the Endangered Species Act and alleging that top officials are not adequately protecting threatened animals from offshore oil and gas activities in the Gulf of Mexico.
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April 08, 2024
Tribes Say Army Corps Mistakes Their Claims In 5th Circ. Row
Two Native American tribes and a conservation group have told the Fifth Circuit that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and an Enbridge Inc. unit have intentionally mischaracterized their claims in litigation seeking to challenge the agency's permit authorization for a major oil terminal on Texas' Gulf Coast.
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April 08, 2024
Oak Flat Mining Decision Treads On Human Rights, UN Told
The San Carlos Apache Tribe is urging a United Nations committee to ask the United States to withhold any permissions that would allow Resolution Copper Co. to proceed with any activity on a plot of land known as Oak Flat, arguing that a Ninth Circuit ruling allowing the land transfer merits urgent intervention to prevent further human rights violations on the sacred site.
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April 08, 2024
Conn. Worker Says Firing For Talking Wages Was Illegal
A former employee of a company that designs and manufactures radiation detection devices accused the firm in Connecticut federal court of breaching state law by prohibiting him from discussing his pay with his colleagues and of firing him for telling a friend about receiving a raise.
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April 08, 2024
Feds Can't Believe Steel Factory Doesn't Know Own Directors
The U.S. government told a Michigan federal judge that a steel input manufacturer can't try to avoid questions about business decisions by claiming it can't identify company leaders, asking the judge to make the factory answer key inquiries about its practices when it sought to remove oven gas limits.
Expert Analysis
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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.
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Consider A Key Insurance Tool For Environmental M&A Deals
Transactional liability insurance can be a useful risk allocation tool for completing mergers and acquisitions in the renewable energy and climate and clean technology sectors, though policies must be structured carefully to achieve maximum coverage, say Joseph Castelluccio and Paul de Bernier at Mayer Brown.
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ESG Concerns Can No Longer Be Ignored In 2024
While the long wait for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's ESG rule continues, government attention to regulations, increased litigation efforts and shareholder resolutions seeking transparency highlight the importance of placing an emphasis on ESG considerations, say attorneys at Wollmuth Maher.
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2 FCPA Settlements Illuminate Self-Disclosure, Disgorgement
Two of last year’s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act settlements — with biomedical company Lifecore and mining company Corsa Coal — suggest that the government will be much more flexible in negotiating disgorgement amounts if an entity voluntarily self-discloses misconduct, say Michael Gilbert and Lucas Amodio at Sheppard Mullin.
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How DOI Aims To Modernize Resource Damage Assessments
The U.S. Department of the Interior's recent proposal to redesign its Type A rule for conducting natural resource damage assessment and restoration activities could lead to a more streamlined, flexible assessment process that would benefit both natural resource trustees and potentially responsible parties, says Brian Ferrasci-O'Malley at Nossaman.
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5 Litigation Funding Trends To Note In 2024
Over the next year and beyond, litigation funding will continue to evolve in ways that affect attorneys and the larger litigation landscape, from the growth of a secondary market for funded claims, to rising interest rates restricting the availability of capital, says Jeffery Lula at GLS Capital.
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5 Securities Litigation Issues To Watch In 2024
There is yet another exciting year ahead for securities litigation, starting with the U.S. Supreme Court hearing argument next week in a case presenting a key securities class action question that has eluded review for the last eight years, say attorneys at Willkie.
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Growing Green Tech Demand Spells Trouble For Groundwater
Increasing demand for green technology is depleting the groundwater reserves used to extract and process the necessary minerals, making a fundamental shift toward more sustainable water use practices necessary at both the state and federal levels, says Sarah Mangelsdorf at Goldberg Segalla.
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Series
ESG Around The World: South Africa
While South Africa has yet to mandate the reporting of nonfinancial and environmental, social, and corporate governance issues, policy documents and recent legislative developments are likely to have a material impact in the country's transition to a low-carbon economy and in meeting its international obligations, say Glynn Kent at Eversheds Sutherland.
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3 Power Rulings Change Outlook For Transmission Cos.
The cumulative effect of three December power cases that halted state actions that gave preference to incumbent transmission providers could level the playing field for independent developers, say Harvey Reiter and John McCaffrey at Stinson.
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4 Legal Ethics Considerations For The New Year
As attorneys and clients reset for a new year, now is a good time to take a step back and review some core ethical issues that attorneys should keep front of mind in 2024, including approaching generative artificial intelligence with caution and care, and avoiding pitfalls in outside counsel guidelines, say attorneys at HWG.
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Bribery Settlement Gives Insight On DOJ Policies
Chemical company Albemarle’s recent $218 million settlement with the government to resolve foreign bribery claims provides valuable data points for companies on the U.S. Department of Justice’s voluntary self-disclosure policy and its clawback pilot program, say Michael DeBernardis and Tiauna Mathieu at Hughes Hubbard.