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Environmental
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May 08, 2024
Kimberly-Clark Blasts 'Illogical' Connecticut PFAS Claims
Kimberly-Clark Corp. is urging a federal judge to toss a proposed class action brought by three Connecticut residents who argued that the company contaminated private property near its New Milford manufacturing plant with toxic "forever chemicals," calling the allegations "illogical," speculative and incomplete.
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May 08, 2024
A Foley Hoag Co-Chair Joins Litigation Firm As Name Partner
Litigation and dispute resolution firm Elliott Kwok Levine & Jaroslaw LLP will operate under a new name after welcoming as its newest name partner a former federal prosecutor who most recently co-chaired Foley Hoag LLP's white-collar crime and government investigations practice.
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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
Forest Service Says Court Should Fell Logging Climate Suit
The U.S. Forest Service on Monday urged a D.C. federal district court to toss most of a lawsuit filed by environmental groups that alleges the agency failed to assess the impact of logging projects on carbon storage and emissions.
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May 07, 2024
DOI Gives States And Tribes $148M For Drought Resiliency
The U.S. Department of the Interior has said it has invested nearly $148 million to help states and Native American tribes prepare for water reliability challenges due to drought and other scarcity concerns, saying the money will go to 42 projects in 10 states.
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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
Contract's 1-Year Limit Doesn't Block NC Mold Claims
A North Carolina appeals court on Tuesday reinstated a couple's suit against a contractor they say failed to remediate water and mold damage in their house, saying the trial court was wrong to find that the contract's one-year limitation on claims applied to the state's Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
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May 07, 2024
Colo. House OKs Conservation Easement Tax Break Extension
Colorado would extend its conservation easement tax credit through 2031 and raise its statewide annual cap on available credits under legislation approved Tuesday by the state House of Representatives.
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May 07, 2024
Georgia Wants Green Groups' Feral Horses Suit Tossed
The state of Georgia on Monday urged a federal judge to throw out a lawsuit brought by conservation groups who want state and federal authorities to remove feral horses they say are running rampant and endangering wildlife on Cumberland Island.
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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
Faegre Drinker Adds Business, Environmental Litigators In Pa.
Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP expanded its Philadelphia office this week with the addition of two partners whose practices specialize in commercial and securities litigation and environmental law.
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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.
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May 07, 2024
DC Circ. Boots Retired EPA Director's Age Bias Suit
The D.C. Circuit declined Tuesday to revive a suit from a retired U.S. Environmental Protection Agency director who said she was pushed into a junior role to make way for younger workers, finding she couldn't pursue the case because she didn't lose benefits or pay.
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May 06, 2024
New EPA Policy Could Increase Criminal Enforcement
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has rolled out a new policy intended to foster communication and coordination between its civil and criminal enforcement offices, a move experts say could result in an increase in criminal investigations and cases.
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May 06, 2024
US Thrashes Mexico's 'Inaccurate' Portrayal Of GMO Corn
The United States has responded to Mexico's ban on imports of genetically modified corn, calling its portrayal of the risks of such crops an unscientific and "inaccurate" description as well as a violation of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
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May 06, 2024
Tribes, Groups Seek 9th Circ. Stay In Power Line Ruling
Two Native American tribes and conservation groups are asking the Ninth Circuit for a stay on an order that allows work to continue on a $10 billion power line, saying that without an emergency injunction, SunZia Transmission LLC will race to finish erecting its remaining towers before an appeal can be resolved.
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May 06, 2024
Cabot Settles Investor Suit Over Groundwater Pollution Claims
Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. and a class of investors have reached a settlement resolving allegations the company misrepresented its environmental regulatory compliance before faulty gas wells polluted Pennsylvania's water supplies.
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May 06, 2024
EPA Finalizes Methane Reporting Regs For Oil And Gas Cos.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday finalized revisions of its Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program regulations for the oil and gas sector, the latest step taken by the Biden administration to clamp down on methane emissions from the industry.
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May 06, 2024
Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court
A record $100 million settlement, a fishy Facebook decision, a canceled Amazon delivery and an upended $7.3 billion sale dispute topped the news out of Delaware's Court of Chancery last week. There were also new cases involving Hess, Microsoft and the 2022 World Cup.
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May 06, 2024
Feds Agree To Terminate Pipeline's Right-Of-Way Permit
A New York federal judge has paused litigation between the Tonawanda Seneca Nation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for 75 days while the agency terminates a right-of-way permit for a wastewater pipeline, saying it is "in the interest of judicial economy" and recognizing the tribe's concerns.
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May 06, 2024
AIG Unit Will Arbitrate $20M Botched Tunnel Project Claims
An AIG unit agreed to go to arbitration with a Michigan county's water resources agency and sewage disposal system over their claims they incurred more than $20 million in damages due to a design contractor's faulty work on a tunnel project.
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May 06, 2024
Texas Says EPA Methane Rule Would Burden Regulators
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality's director of the Office of Air told the D.C. Circuit that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has grossly underestimated the cost of complying with its expanded methane emissions control requirements, and should therefore pause the rule's implementation.
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May 06, 2024
3 Firms Build $6.2B Take-Private Sale Of Allete Energy Biz
A consortium of buyers led by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Global Infrastructure Partners unveiled plans Monday to buy and take private Minnesota-based energy company Allete Inc., in a $6.2 billion deal put together by at least three firms.
Expert Analysis
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Challenges Remain In Financing Energy Transition Minerals
COP28, the latest U.N. climate conference, reached a consensus on a just and equitable transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, but more action and funding will be needed to ensure that developed countries responsibly source the minerals that will be critical for this process, say attorneys at Watson Farley.
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Exxon ESG Proxy Statement Suit May Chill Investor Proposals
Exxon Mobil’s recent use of a Texas federal lawsuit to intimidate shareholders into withdrawing a climate-friendly proxy proposal could inspire more public companies to sue to avoid adopting ESG resolutions — a power move that would chill activist investor participation and unbalance shareholder-corporate relations, say Domenico Minerva and James Fee at Labaton Keller.
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3 Principles For Minimizing The Risk Of A Nuclear Verdict
In one of the latest examples of so-called nuclear verdicts, a single plaintiff was awarded $2.25 billion in a jury trial against Monsanto — revealing the need for defense attorneys to prioritize trust, connection and simplicity when communicating with modern juries, say Jenny Hergenrother and Mia Falzarano at Alston & Bird.
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Series
Coaching High School Wrestling Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Coaching my son’s high school wrestling team has been great fun, but it’s also demonstrated how a legal career can benefit from certain experiences, such as embracing the unknown, studying the rules and engaging with new people, says Richard Davis at Maynard Nexsen.
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What To Know About RWI In Acquisition And Divestiture Deals
As a slower pace of merger activity turns underwriters toward new industries, representations and warranties insurance policies are increasingly being written for acquisition and divestiture energy deals, making it important for contracting parties to understand how the RWI underwriting process works in this new sector, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.
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Opinion
New La. Gas Pipeline Projects Must Respect Rules And Rights
As pipeline developers rush to join in Louisiana's Haynesville Shale gas boom, established operators like Energy Transfer are justified in demanding that newer entrants respect safety rules, regulatory requirements and property rights when proposing routes that would cross existing pipelines, says Joshua Campbell at Campbell Law.
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Freight Forwarders And Common Carriers: Know Your Cargo
Freight forwarders and other nonprincipal parties involved in global cargo movement should follow the guidance in the multi-agency know-your-cargo compliance note to avoid enforcement actions should they fail to spot evasive tactics used in supply chains to circumvent U.S. sanctions and export controls, say attorneys at Venable.
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SG's Office Is Case Study To Help Close Legal Gender Gap
As women continue to be underrepresented in the upper echelons of the legal profession, law firms could learn from the example set by the Office of the Solicitor General, where culture and workplace policies have helped foster greater gender equality, say attorneys at Ocean Tomo.
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Googling Prospective Jurors Is Usually A Fool's Errand
Though a Massachusetts federal court recently barred Google from Googling potential jurors in a patent infringement case, the company need not worry about missing evidence of bias, because internet research of jury pools usually doesn’t yield the most valuable information — voir dire and questionnaires do, says Sarah Murray at Trialcraft.
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Reducing Carbon Footprint Requires A Tricky Path For CRE
As real estate owners find themselves caught between rapidly evolving environmental, social and governance initiatives and complicated societal debate, they will need to carefully establish formal plans to remain both competitive and compliant, say Michael Kuhn and Mahira Khan at Jackson Walker.
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The Corporate Disclosure Tug-Of-War's Free Speech Issues
The continuing conflict over corporate disclosure requirements — highlighted by a lawsuit against Missouri's anti-ESG rules — has important implications not just for investors and regulated entities but also for broader questions about the scope of the First Amendment, say Colin Pohlman, and Jane Luxton and Paul Kisslinger at Lewis Brisbois.
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3 Administrative Law Lessons From 5th Circ. Appliance Ruling
Showing that mundane details can be outcome-determinative, the Fifth Circuit's recent decision in Louisiana v. U.S. Department of Energy — that the government's repeal of rules affecting dishwashers and laundry machines is invalid — highlights the relationship between regulatory actions and statutory language, say Michael Showalter and Vyasa Babu at ArentFox Schiff.
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A Look Into How Jurors Reach High Damages Awards
In the wake of several large jury awards, Richard Gabriel and Emily Shaw at Decision Analysis shed light on challenges that jurors have in deciding them, the nonevidentiary and extra-legal methods they use to do so, and new research about the themes and jury characteristics of high-damages jurors.
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Aviation Back On Course, But Keep Seat Belts Fastened
While the airline industry finally returned to profitability last year for the first time since the onset of COVID-19, and is poised for historic levels of traffic in 2024, supply chain problems and economic and geopolitical uncertainty persist — so more turbulence may lie ahead, say Kevin Lewis and Bart Biggers at Sidley.
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Preparing For A New Wave Of Litigation Under Silicosis Rules
After the Division of Occupational Safety and Health of California issued an emergency temporary standard to combat noncompliance with assessments of workers' exposure to particles of crystalline silica, companies that manufacture, distribute or sell silica-containing products will need aggressive case-specific discovery to navigate a new wave of litigation, say attorneys at Dechert.