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Energy
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May 24, 2013
Oil Group Challenges Seals' 'Threatened Species' Status
The Alaska Oil & Gas Association sued the National Marine Fisheries Service in Alaska federal court Wednesday, arguing that a recently implemented rule listing two populations of bearded seals as threatened was not backed by evidence and was an overreach.
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May 23, 2013
Supervalu Sues Sunoco Over Gas Card Exclusivity Deal
Wholesale grocery supplier Supervalu Holdings LLC sued Sunoco Inc. in Pennsylvania state court Wednesday, accusing the gas station owner of breaching an agreement to give Pittsburgh-area Shop ‘n Save customers discounts on gasoline when they swiped their card at the pump.
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May 23, 2013
BP, Others Face Price-Fixing Claims In 1st Private Suit
BP PLC, Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Statoil ASA were accused Wednesday in New York federal court of manipulating prices for crude oil futures, the earliest known private antitrust action lodged after a European regulator raided several oil companies over similar allegations.
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May 21, 2013
Chevron Sues Sunoco Over Texas Pipeline Deal
A unit of Chevron Corp. fired off a derivative lawsuit Monday in Delaware Chancery Court on behalf of West Texas Gulf Pipeline Co. and against a subsidiary of Sunoco Inc., alleging that Sunoco's representatives on WTG's board approved an unfair pipeline lease.
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May 20, 2013
Oil Field Workers Say Superior Energy Stiffed Them On OT
Superior Energy Services Inc. deprived over 1,000 Pennsylvania oil field workers of overtime pay by misclassifying them as exempt from federal and state wage laws, according to a proposed class action filed in federal court Friday.
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May 20, 2013
Bankrupt Norse Holding Land Hostage, Suit Says
Dozens of New York landowners hit oil and gas producer Norse Energy USA with an adversary suit Friday, claiming the bankrupt company is holding their land hostage with expired leases while it waits for a hydraulic fracturing moratorium to lift.
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May 17, 2013
Texas Joins Other Gulf States, Hits BP With Deepwater Suit
Texas became the fifth state to take BP PLC to court over the massive Deepwater Horizon oil spill, lodging an enforcement action against the company Friday demanding civil penalties and economic damages caused by the estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil released into the Gulf of Mexico.
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May 17, 2013
Enviros Sue To Block Tenn. Mountaintop-Removal Projects
Environmental groups including the Sierra Club sued the U.S. Interior Department in Tennessee federal court on Thursday, claiming the agency approved two mountaintop-removal coal mining projects in the state without properly considering their impact on two protected species of fish.
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May 15, 2013
Argentina Files WTO Complaint Over EU Biodiesel Rules
Argentina filed a formal complaint against the European Union with the World Trade Organization on Wednesday, challenging European rules for the importation and marketing of biodiesel.
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May 14, 2013
Power-One Investor Says $1B ABB Offer Is Too Low
Solar energy firm Power-One Inc. and its executives were hit with a shareholder class action Tuesday claiming that its proposed $1 billion sale to Swiss conglomerate ABB Ltd. undervalues Power-One with the renewable energy market set to explode over the next decade.
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May 10, 2013
Sierra Club Appeals Emission Plan For Pa. Coal Plant
A new emission-control plan imposed on a Pennsylvania coal-fired power plant owned — which environmentalists say ranks among the nation’s dirtiest — fails to ensure the facility will meet federal air pollution limits, the Sierra Club claimed in an appeal before state regulators on Thursday.
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May 7, 2013
Fracking Supplier Hit With FLSA Overtime Class Action
Marcellus Shale drilling infrastructure and service provider Superior Energy Resources LLC was hit with a putative class action in Pennsylvania federal court Monday alleging that the company violated the Fair Labor Standards Act as well as state employment statutes.
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May 2, 2013
Enviros Wants EPA To Revamp Toxic Emissions Standards
Four environmental groups urged a Washington federal judge on Wednesday to force the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to review toxic emissions standards, claiming the agency has ignored inaccurate data for more than 30 years.
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May 1, 2013
Former Alstom Exec Charged Over Foreign Bribery Plot
A former executive of a French power and engineering company — reportedly Alstom SA — has been charged for his role in a scheme to bribe Indonesian officials in order to win a lucrative power services-related contract, prosecutors said Wednesday.
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May 1, 2013
Insurer Wants Out Of Mining Cos.' Trade Secrets Fight
Imperium Insurance Co. on Tuesday hit Star Mine Services Inc. with a lawsuit claiming it doesn't owe the coverage to the company in litigation with GMS Mine Repair & Maintenance Inc., which alleges two former GMS employees stole its confidential information to establish Star Mine.
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May 1, 2013
Electric Car Co. Files Ch. 11, To Sell Unit To Fortress
Electric-car maker Coda Holdings Inc. rolled into bankruptcy in Delaware on Wednesday with plans to sell its automobile assets to lenders led by Fortress Investment Group LLC, while shifting gears to concentrate on its energy-storage business.
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April 30, 2013
BP Spill Plaintiffs May Struggle To Show Economic Losses
Thousands of municipalities, businesses and individuals have recently scrambled to sue BP PLC for alleged economic losses stemming from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster ahead of a three-year statutory deadline, but experts say proving the oil giant caused those losses will be a legal hurdle many plaintiffs will find tough to clear.
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April 29, 2013
National Grid Can't Collect To Keep Plant Running, FERC Told
New York municipal utilities on Friday said they shouldn't be charged by National Grid to allow a mothballed coal-fired plant the company sold to NRG Energy Inc. for $355 million to continue running, saying National Grid hasn't shown that the costs are necessary in order to maintain grid reliability.
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April 29, 2013
Enviro Group Challenges Wyo. Coal Leases
Conservation group Powder River Basin Resource Council sued the Bureau of Land Management in Wyoming federal court Friday, alleging the agency approved four new coal leases without considering their environmental implications on the area or adjacent mines.
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April 29, 2013
GE Demands Millions For River Cleanup From Nat'l Grid Unit
General Electric Co. on Friday hit National Grid unit Niagara Mohawk Power Corp. with a lawsuit seeking millions of dollars in response costs GE said it has incurred in connection with the environmental dredging of a Superfund site in the upper Hudson River in New York.
Expert Analysis
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How To Avoid The Dirty Side Of Clean Energy
Recent news reports on the RusHydro embezzlement, a U.S. Virgin Islands senator's arrest and the Italian mafia infiltration suggest that the not-so-clean side of the clean energy sector may come under greater scrutiny around the world. These reports should serve as a sobering reminder for companies of the risks and consequences of international corruption, say attorneys with Covington & Burling LLP.
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LNG Export Moratorium Has Ended — What Now?
The U.S. Department of Energy's recent order ending a nearly two-year moratorium on liquefied natural gas export approvals provides important insight into how the department will consider pending and future export applications. However, it also raises many questions and indicates that the DOE will not back down from its controversial position on its authority, say attorneys with Day Pitney LLP.
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DC Circ. Backs FERC's Approach To Return On Equity
Recently, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected Southern California Edison’s challenge to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's methodology for determining a company’s base return on equity. One noteworthy lesson from the case is that this method can have a material affect on the ROE, with a large revenue impact, say attorneys with Day Pitney LLP.
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Recent FERC Ruling Dashes Hopes Of Oil Pipeline Watchers
The outcome of High Prairie LLC v. Enbridge Energy LP turned out to be a disappointment for industry watchers hoping for a definitive ruling on whether the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission would break with well-established precedent and require an interstate oil pipeline to interconnect with another pipeline, say attorneys with Bracewell & Giuliani LLP.
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Rise Of The Machines — Predictive Coding Goes Mainstream
The pros of using predictive coding far outweigh the cons. Given the heavy pressure on law firms and in-house counsel to reduce discovery costs, as well as the Justice Department's recent stance on the subject, it appears predictive coding will continue to emerge from the obscure world of legal technology to the mainstream of legal practice, say Michael Moscato and Myles Bartley of Curtis Mallet-Prevost Colt & Mosle LLP.
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The Oil And Gas Operator's Texas Advantage
The interpretation by the Supreme Court of Texas in Reeder v. Wood County Energy LLC grants vast protection to oil and gas operators, but by doing so, it is perceived by some as muddling the differences between tort and contract law, says Michael Bolton and Kate Kalanick of Faegre Baker Daniels LLP.
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4th Circ. Weighs In On Bona Fide Purchaser Defense
The Fourth Circuit recently issued a ruling in PCS Nitrogen Inc. v. Ashley II of Charleston that may limit the availability of the bona fide prospective purchaser defense. By narrowly construing one of the elements of the BFPP defense, the court has underscored the importance of strict compliance with all requirements of the defense, say attorneys with K&L Gates LLP.
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Another Challenge To Calif. Cap-And-Trade Law
The California Air Resources Board has again been sued over its implementation of the Global Warming Solutions Act in Morning Star Packing Co., et al. v. CARB, which resembles an earlier action brought by the California Chamber of Commerce. Petitioners of both cases face the difficult challenge of convincing the court to derail a massive regulatory scheme that is now well underway, say attorneys with Marten Law PLLC.
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The Who, What And Why Of Public-Private Partnerships
Public-private partnerships have been used in a wide range of sectors to provide public services, from power plants and railroads to hospitals and sanitation plants. Yet there are a variety of potential contractual arrangements and the financing of a PPP can be complex, say Maryam Khosharay and Herbert Glaser of Haynes and Boone LLP.
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Latest In EPA's Series Of Aggressive Coal Plant Rules
Recently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced proposed technology-based effluent limitation guidelines and standards for steam electric power-generating units. These guidelines will certainly impose significant costs, and when coupled with the cost of the EPA’s rules under the Clean Air Act, there can be little question that some coal-fired facilities will close as a result, say attorneys with Latham & Watkins LLP.