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Energy
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April 11, 2024
Investors Again Seek Asset Freeze To Enforce $60M Awards
Two Chinese investment firms have again urged a California federal court to impose a worldwide freeze against a renewable energy company's assets as they seek to enforce about $60 million in arbitral awards, saying the company is in increasing financial distress.
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April 11, 2024
3 Firms Guide Safety Inspection Firm UL's Upsized $946M IPO
Safety inspection company UL Solutions Inc. on Thursday completed a larger-than-anticipated $946 million initial public offering near the top of its price range, guided by three law firms.
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April 11, 2024
NJ Climate Suit Goes 'Far Beyond' Boundaries, Oil Cos. Say
Six oil companies and an energy trade group told a judge Thursday that New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin is attempting to stretch the state's tort law "far beyond" any manageable boundaries in attempting to hold them liable for allegedly misleading Garden State residents about the climate impacts of fossil fuels.
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April 11, 2024
Interior Dept. Finalizes Rule To Strengthen Endangered Species Act
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Thursday announced a final rule it said is intended to increase participation in its voluntary conservation programs, but environmentalists slammed it as "a huge missed opportunity" to improve conditions for wildlife.
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April 11, 2024
Energy Co. Says Insurer Can't Execute $21M Death Settlement
A Berkley unit should be barred from executing a $21 million policy-limit settlement demand in a wrongful death suit, an energy company facing a separate suit told a Texas federal court, saying it will be left without coverage for a competing settlement demand if the insurer exhausts its policy limits.
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April 11, 2024
Pacific Pipeline To Pay Calif. Landowners $70M Over Oil Spill
A class of landowners urged a California federal judge to sign off on a $70 million deal with Pacific Pipeline Co. to resolve litigation stemming from the rupture of an onshore pipeline that leaked 140,000 gallons of crude oil near Santa Barbara, California, according to a motion for settlement approval entered Wednesday.
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April 11, 2024
DOI Lowers Fees For Solar, Wind Projects On Public Lands
The U.S. Department of the Interior unveiled finalized updates to its renewable energy regulations on Thursday that are aimed at promoting the development of solar and wind energy on public lands by lowering the associated fees.
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April 11, 2024
Odebrecht Exec Details Bribes To Ex-Ecuador Comptroller
The former director of Odebrecht SA's operations in Ecuador told jurors Thursday that he paid millions in bribes to "Miami" — a code name for Ecuador's former comptroller — related to various infrastructure projects the Brazilian conglomerate was building in the country.
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April 11, 2024
Ohio Judge Axes Norfolk's Derailment Cleanup Cost Defenses
An Ohio federal judge has struck several of Norfolk Southern Corp.'s defenses against the government's environmental cleanup cost suit arising from the train derailment in East Palestine but said it is too early to rule on the company's argument that the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act claims are preempted by federal rail statutes.
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April 11, 2024
Deals Rumor Mill: US Steel, Germany's Stada, Paramount
The DOJ opens a probe into Nippon’s proposed $14.9 billion takeover of US Steel, German drugmaker Stada explores a sale, and Paramount and Skydance are hashing out potential deal terms. Here, Law360 breaks down these and other notable deal rumors from the past week.
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April 11, 2024
Alaska Native Village Defends Donlin Gold Mine Approvals
Alaska's Native Village of Crooked Creek threw its support behind the federal government in litigation brought by half a dozen tribes challenging its approvals for a massive open-pit gold mine along the Kuskokwim River in southwest Alaska, saying the project will bring meaningful improvements to Crooked Creek.
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April 11, 2024
Vineyard Wind Project Thoroughly Vetted, Feds Tell 1st Circ.
The federal government on Thursday urged the First Circuit to uphold a Massachusetts federal judge's decision tossing a fishing group's challenge to the Vineyard Wind project, saying it was approved by the U.S. Department of the Interior after extensive analysis.
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April 11, 2024
Judge Recommends State Court For Ore. County Climate Suit
A federal magistrate judge has said an Oregon county's climate change lawsuit against Chevron, Exxon Mobil and other fossil fuel companies should be sent back to state court, rejecting arguments that the complaint was fraudulently crafted to evade federal jurisdiction.
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April 11, 2024
Colonial Oil Fined $2.8M For Violating Renewable Fuel Rules
Colonial Oil Industries Inc. will pay a $2.8 million fine to resolve allegations it dodged federal renewable fuel mandates by selling 100 million gallons of diesel to marine vessels without buying required offset credits, according to a proposed settlement filed in Georgia federal court.
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April 11, 2024
EPA Says Colo. Air Pollution Plan Approval Was Proper
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday urged the Tenth Circuit to uphold its approval of a Colorado air emissions permitting program, and said a green group's argument that the scheme contains too many exemptions for the oil and gas industry pollution is mistaken.
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April 11, 2024
Judge Won't Rethink Ax Of Tribes 'Cultural Resource' Claims
A Washington federal judge has refused to rethink his dismissal of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation's claims for "tribal service losses" stemming from a smelter's Columbia River pollution, saying the tribes did not meet the standard required for reconsideration.
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April 11, 2024
US Sends Mixed Messages In Enbridge Line 5 Pipeline Dispute
The U.S. government sent mixed messages to the Seventh Circuit in weighing in on Enbridge's controversial Line 5 oil pipeline, saying a lower court was right to determine that the company is trespassing on tribal lands, but recommended that the case be remanded and that a tribe's public nuisance claim be dismissed.
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April 10, 2024
GOP Rep. Calls On SEC To Delay Climate Rule Compliance
A Republican congressman said Wednesday that he plans to ask the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to push back the compliance timeline for controversial rules governing corporate climate disclosures, indicating that the agency's agreement to temporarily stay the rules' implementation during the course of a legal challenge is not enough.
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April 10, 2024
Full 9th Circ. Asked To Rethink Tanker Seizure Ruling
Several operators of liquid petroleum gas carrier vessels have petitioned the full Ninth Circuit to rethink a circuit panel ruling that a nearly 800-foot crude oil tanker cannot be seized to enforce approximately $10 million in arbitral awards against a defunct gas shipping company.
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April 10, 2024
Landmark PFAS Rule Faces Battles Over Costs And Science
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday issued the first-ever federal drinking water standards for "forever chemicals," something communities, environmental groups and politicians of both major political parties had been clamoring for. However, experts said the novel rulemaking will attract tough legal battles over implementation costs, supporting science and other elements.
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April 10, 2024
Spain To Face Claim Over Nixed Uranium Processing Plant
Clean energy company Berkeley Energia Ltd. on Wednesday said it has retained Herbert Smith Freehills and the Spanish firm LCS Abogados to file an investor-state claim on its behalf against Spain after the country shut down its bid to construct a uranium processing plant in 2021.
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April 10, 2024
Emissions Rules' Foes May Be Forced To Yield To Automakers
Potential challengers of vehicle emissions rules were shown they're not necessarily in the drivers' seat on the issue when the D.C. Circuit upheld California's authority to set its own greenhouse gas emissions standards and run a zero-emission vehicles program while citing the auto industry's peace with the regulations.
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April 10, 2024
Spain Can't Nix €28 Million Renewables Award
Spain lost its bid to annul a €28 million ($30 million) arbitral award issued to German energy giant RWE after an international committee rejected Madrid's argument that the tribunal exceeded its powers by opting not to apply European Union law, according to a now-public decision.
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April 10, 2024
Mich. Justices Block Wind Farm's Plan To Expand Near Airport
The Michigan Supreme Court has upheld a local board's decision to block a commercial wind farm expansion, agreeing with a trial judge that zoning officials had marshaled enough evidence that the windmills posed safety risks to aviators.
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April 10, 2024
Diamond Biz Says PE Firm Had 'No Intention' Of Paying Fees
A Canadian diamond polisher is suing the private equity owner of a lab-grown diamond company in Michigan federal court, arguing that Huron Capital Partners promised to help fund new facilities to process the diamonds it was sending despite knowing the company was heading for bankruptcy and would be unable to pay the fees.
Expert Analysis
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Why Biz Groups Disagree On Ending Chevron Deference
Two amicus briefs filed in advance of last month's U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo highlight contrasting views on whether the doctrine of Chevron deference promotes or undermines the stable regulatory environment that businesses require, say Wyatt Kendall and Sydney Brogden at Morris Manning.
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A Look Ahead For The Electric Vehicle Charging Industry
This will likely be an eventful year for the electric vehicle market as government efforts to accelerate their adoption inevitably clash with backlash from supporters of the petroleum industry, say Rue Phillips at SkillFusion and Enid Joffe at Green Paradigm Consulting.
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A Post-Mortem Analysis Of Stroock's Demise
After the dissolution of 147-year-old firm Stroock late last year shook up the legal world, a post-mortem analysis of the data reveals a long list of warning signs preceding the firm’s collapse — and provides some insight into how other firms might avoid the same disastrous fate, says Craig Savitzky at Leopard Solutions.
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Opinion
Exxon Court Should Clarify Shareholder Proposal Exclusion
ExxonMobil last month took the unusual action of asking a Texas federal judge whether a proposal from climate activists seeking to limit oil and gas sales could be excluded from its 2024 proxy statement, and the court should use this opportunity to reevaluate SEC policy and set clear limits on when shareholder proposals can be included, says Stephen Bainbridge at UCLA School of Law.
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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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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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The Latest Antitrust Areas For In-House Counsel To Watch
The U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission's increasingly aggressive approach to antitrust enforcement means in-house counsel should closely monitor five key compliance issues, say attorneys at Squire Patton.
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Del.'s Tesla Pay Takedown Tells Boards What Not To Do
The Delaware Chancery Court’s ruthless dissection of the Tesla board’s extreme departures from standard corporate governance in its January opinion striking down CEO Elon Musk’s $55 billion pay package offers a blow-by-blow guide to mistakes Delaware public companies can avoid when negotiating executive compensation, say attorneys at Cleary.
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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.