Environmental

April 04, 2024
SEC Voluntarily Puts Climate Regs On Ice During Court Battle

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced Thursday that it is voluntarily delaying the implementation of climate disclosure regulations while it fights an Eighth Circuit challenge seeking to vacate the rules, with the regulator saying that it hopes the voluntary stay will speed resolution of the case.
April 04, 2024
Squire Patton Adds Polsinelli Enviro Atty Pair In Denver

Squire Patton Boggs LLP announced Thursday that it had added two former Polsinelli PC attorneys to its global environmental, safety and health practice.
April 04, 2024
Great Lakes Fishing Pact Tramples Treaty Rights, Tribe Says

The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians is asking the Sixth Circuit to undo a Great Lakes fishing decree between it and four other tribes and the state of Michigan, arguing the decree was entered without its consent and imposes upon its treaty rights.
April 04, 2024
Project Owners Eager To Sell Energy Tax Credits, Report Says

Project owners are pursuing new financing strategies that would support the early sale of their clean energy tax credits as more projects in their initial development stage this year seek to capitalize on the incentives as early as possible, a report released Thursday said.
April 03, 2024
Hawaii Bio Power Co. Can't Add Merger-Based Antitrust Claims

A Hawaii federal magistrate judge has refused to permit the addition of new allegations, based on a 2017 fossil fuel plant acquisition, to a recently restarted lawsuit accusing the state's largest power company of anticompetitively canceling a contract for a new biomass energy plant.
April 03, 2024
Roadless Rule Doesn't Suit The Tongass, Alaska, Allies Argue

The state of Alaska, electric utilities, and a coalition of towns, mining and business groups, as well as a former Last Frontier governor, are all urging a federal judge to overturn the Biden administration's decision to reinstate roadless area protections for millions of acres of the Tongass National Forest.
April 03, 2024
EU Probing Solar Project Under Foreign Subsidy Rules

European enforcers launched a pair of investigations Wednesday to assess whether companies bidding on a solar project in Romania received an unfair advantage through foreign subsidies.
April 03, 2024
NJ Judge Grants Initial OK Of $2.7M EV Maker Investor Deal

A New Jersey federal judge granted preliminary approval to a $2.7 million deal between investors and executives of an electric vehicle company after it went bankrupt, after finding his prior hesitations concerning the deal's notice plan had been resolved.
April 03, 2024
Industry Groups Ask DC Circ. To Toss EPA Smog Plan

Industry groups have urged the D.C. Circuit to strike down the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's plan to reduce smog-forming emissions in several states, saying the federal agency cannot forge ahead with a diminished version of the regulations.
April 03, 2024
Fed. Circ. Struggles With Ambiguity In $14M Army Corps Row

Federal Circuit judges struggled Wednesday to understand ambiguous terms in a company's contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for post-hurricane power restoration, indicating that neither party had clearly explained if the contractor has a valid $14 million claim for additional work needed.
April 03, 2024
ITC To Pay $6.6M To DOJ, Texas Over 2019 Chemical Fire

The owner of a chemical storage facility has agreed to pay more than $6.6 million in connection with natural resource damage stemming from a 2019 fire that burned for six days at a plant southeast of Houston, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday.
April 03, 2024
Enviro Group Sues DOE Over $1.1B Diablo Canyon Award

Environmental group Friends of the Earth slapped the U.S. Department of Energy with a complaint in California federal court seeking to unravel the agency's $1.1 billion award for the continued operation of the state's last remaining nuclear power plant.
April 03, 2024
EPA Faces Down Water Rule Challenge In Texas

The federal government has asked a Texas federal judge to toss lawsuits filed by Texas, Idaho and more than a dozen industry groups challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers' rule defining the extent of the Clean Water Act's reach.
April 03, 2024
5th Circ. Unsure Miners Can Escape Pecan Farm Flood Verdict

Fifth Circuit judges on Wednesday suggested that the owner of an open gravel mine on the bank of the Colorado River could have a tough time in its bid to avoid responsibility for devastating flooding at a pecan farm across the river.
April 03, 2024
Gov't Says Alaska Gold Mine Approvals Should Stand

The U.S. government is defending its approvals for a large open-pit gold mine along the Kuskokwim River in southwest Alaska, telling a federal judge a half dozen tribes challenging them fail to show that agencies did not take the required "hard look" at project impacts.
April 03, 2024
Beekeeper Groups Seek Fees From EPA After 9th Circ. Appeal

Attorneys for beekeeper groups in an appeal over a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency decision on insecticides have asked the Ninth Circuit to award nearly $750,000 in legal fees after a ruling that hammered the EPA but left the agency's decision intact.
April 03, 2024
Forchelli Appoints Environmental Practice Chair

Forchelli Deegan Terrana LLP has announced the hiring of a partner with experience in organizations such as Miller Environmental Group Inc. and New York American Water to chair its environmental practice group.
April 03, 2024
Top 10 Deals Of Q1 Led By GE Energy Spinoff, Capital One

It may be wishful thinking to imagine that earlier hopes for a major rebound in 2024 mergers and acquisitions activity will pan out, but by many indications the year was at least off to a better start than 2023.
April 03, 2024
Oil Company Says Judge's Recusal Not Needed In Cartel Suits

Pioneer Natural Resources Co. fired back at gasoline buyers' attempt to recuse a Nevada federal judge from the parties' antitrust litigation over her stock ownership in ExxonMobil Corp., arguing that the company isn't a party to the case, and that the litigation should be transferred to Texas.
April 02, 2024
Utility Cos. Must Face Uri MDL Gross Negligence Claims

Transmission and distribution utility providers can't escape allegations they were grossly negligent in cutting off power to Texans during winter storm Uri, a Texas state appeals court ruled Tuesday in an opinion that keeps intact only two claims against the companies in the multidistrict litigation created to handle consumer actions from the severe weather event.
April 02, 2024
OxyChem Opposes Feds' $150M Lower Passaic Deal

Occidental Chemical Corp. is fighting the federal government's proposed $150 million consent decree with 82 small companies that share some responsibility for New Jersey's Lower Passaic River pollution, with the businesses filing a brief supporting the deal.
April 02, 2024
Tesla Pushed On La. Antitrust Claims In 5th Circ.

Tesla Inc.'s claims that Louisiana car dealers and regulators illegally excluded the direct-sale automaker from the state's market met a Fifth Circuit panel Tuesday that questioned how the case might be impacted by a Pelican State probe into the company's allegedly unlawful conduct.
April 02, 2024
Mich. Warns PFAS Ruling Could Fuel More Agency Challenges

Michigan has warned the state's high court that an appellate decision invalidating PFAS drinking water limits could pave the way for future litigants to attack state regulations by pointing to imperfect cost estimates, urging the court to revive the PFAS rules.
April 02, 2024
Enviro Org. Says Feds Failed To Act On Protections For Bees

Conservationists are asking an Arizona federal judge to order the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to decide whether four bee species — including the iconic American bumblebee — should be protected under the Endangered Species Act.
April 02, 2024
Seattle Seaport Co. Defying Clean Water Act, Green Group Says

SSA Marine Inc. is allegedly violating the Clean Water Act by allowing excess contaminated stormwater from its port cargo facility to pollute Seattle's Duwamish River and Elliott Bay, according to a citizen lawsuit filed by an environmental group.

Expert Analysis

Food And Beverage Policy Trends Cos. Should Track In 2024

The list of legal issues food and beverage companies should watch out for in 2024 include the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Human Foods Program, the Food Safety and Inspection Service’s salmonella proposal, Proposition 12 and more, say Bob Hibbert and Amaru Sánchez at Wiley.
How 2023 Shaped Drug And Medical Device Legal Trends

2023 brought a number of positive developments for the life sciences industry, including great trial and multidistrict litigation outcomes, but also some heavy-handed regulations and other concerning developments that lay the groundwork for significant litigation, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.
Opinion

What Insurers Gain When Litigating Coverage Denials

Lately, insurance companies have denied coverage for lawsuits alleging liability relating to the ordinary operations of highly regulated businesses, such as those in the pharmaceutical and energy sectors — demonstrating time and again how litigation can be a vehicle for carriers to mitigate their own costs, say attorneys at Reed Smith.
After Headwinds, 2024 May See Offshore Wind Momentum

Despite skyrocketing raw material costs, conflicting state and federal policies, and other setbacks for the offshore wind sector in 2023, the industry appears poised for growth in the coming year, with improving economics, more flexible procurement procedures and increasing legislative support, say Emily Huggins Jones and Ben Cowan at Locke Lord.
5 Trends That Will Affect Food Litigation In 2024

In 2024, food and beverage companies are likely to continue to face threats of litigation relating to so-called forever chemicals, citric and malic acid, and ESG claims, but recent developments in case law have created potential avenues for defense, say Abby Meyer and Khirin Bunker at Sheppard Mullin.
10 Issues To Watch As ESG Remains Alive And Well In 2024

Practitioners and stakeholders should watch a number of key environmental, social and corporate governance issues in the new year, including court rulings and comprehensive research, as the data shows ESG is here to stay, says Heidi Friedman at Thompson Hine.
Law Firm Strategies For Successfully Navigating 2024 Trends

Though law firms face the dual challenge of external and internal pressures as they enter 2024, firms willing to pivot will be able to stand out by adapting to stakeholder needs and reimagining their infrastructure, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Consultants.
Top 10 Employer Resolutions For 2024

From technological leaps to sea changes in labor policy to literal sea changes, 2024 provides opportunities for employers to face big-picture questions that will shape their business for years to come, say Allegra Lawrence-Hardy and Lisa Haldar at Lawrence & Bundy.
The Most-Read Legal Industry Law360 Guest Articles Of 2023

A range of legal industry topics drew readers' attention in Law360's Expert Analysis section this year, from associate retention strategies to ethical billing practices.
Considerations for In-House Counsel Before Testing For PFAS

In 2024, federal and state agencies are expected to introduce a plethora of new rules regulating per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, with private litigation sure to follow — but in-house counsel should first weigh the risks and benefits before companies proactively investigate their historical PFAS use, say attorneys at Stinson.
5 Most Notable Class Action Standing Cases Of 2023

Key appellate class action decisions this past year continued the trend of a more demanding approach to the threshold issue of standing during each phase of litigation, say attorneys at MoFo.
Attorneys' Busiest Times Can Be Business Opportunities

Attorneys who resolve to grow their revenue and client base in 2024 should be careful not to abandon their goals when they get too busy with client work, because these periods of zero bandwidth can actually be a catalyst for future growth, says Amy Drysdale at Alchemy Consulting.
In The World Of Legal Ethics, 10 Trends To Note From 2023

Lucian Pera at Adams and Reese and Trisha Rich at Holland & Knight identify the top legal ethics trends from 2023 — including issues related to hot documents, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity — that lawyers should be aware of to put their best foot forward.
Analyzing 1 Year Of Comments On FTC's Green Guides

A review of over 7,000 comments submitted in the year since the Federal Trade Commission requested feedback on its Green Guides reveals widespread concern over how the existing guidelines leave room for interpretation, putting businesses in a challenging position when marketing products, say Mark Levy and Emma Lombard at Eckert Seamans.
The Key Laws Retailers Should Pay Attention To In 2024

2024 promises to be another transformative year for retailers as they navigate the evolving regulatory landscape, particularly surrounding data privacy and sustainability laws, meaning companies should make it a practice to keep track of new legislation and invest in compliance efforts early on, say attorneys at Benesch.