Energy

  • April 18, 2024

    Retirees Seek $5.4M Counsel Fee In Talen Energy ERISA Suit

    Lawyers from three firms representing a class of retirees alleging Talen Energy unlawfully withheld early retirement benefits have asked a Pennsylvania federal judge to designate $5.4 million of the $20 million settlement as attorney fees.

  • April 17, 2024

    PG&E Sued For $225 Million Dixie Fire Forest Damage

    Owners of the Collins Almanor Forest in Northern California have slapped PG&E with a complaint alleging that they incurred more than $225 million in damage after the Dixie Fire ripped through approximately 55,000 acres of their forest lands in July 2021. 

  • April 17, 2024

    Kraft Sued Over Lead Contamination In Lunchables

    Kraft has been slapped with a proposed class action over its popular Lunchables snack kits after independent testing of the kits allegedly found that they contained high, though legally allowable, levels of lead and other harmful substances.

  • April 17, 2024

    DC Judge Questions 7-Eleven Position On FTC Constraints

    A D.C. federal judge on Wednesday pressed counsel for 7-Eleven on the company's claims that only the U.S. attorney general can seek civil penalties on behalf of the Federal Trade Commission, questioning how the commission itself can be limited when the FTC Act gives it the right to take up actions if the U.S. Department of Justice does not.

  • April 17, 2024

    Hawaii AG Releases Timeline Of Deadly Lahaina Wildfire

    Hawaii's attorney general on Wednesday released findings from the first report of a three-part investigation into how state and county governments responded to the wildfires that ignited on the island of Maui last year, decimating the historic town of Lahaina and leaving more than 100 people dead.

  • April 17, 2024

    EV Tax Credit Restrictions, Trade Bills Advance In House

    The House Ways and Means Committee advanced several trade bills Wednesday that would impose more restrictions for new electric vehicles to qualify for a federal tax credit, assert congressional authority in agreements with foreign governments, and renew the country's largest and oldest trade preferences program.

  • April 17, 2024

    MoFo Advises Southwest Gas Carve-Out Centuri's $260M IPO

    Southwest Gas Holdings Inc.'s infrastructure services unit Centuri Holdings Inc. on Wednesday priced a $260.4 million initial public offering at the top of its range, enabling Centuri to become a standalone public company, represented by Morrison Foerster LLP and underwriters' counsel Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP.

  • April 17, 2024

    Republican AGs Petition EPA To Drop Enviro Justice Initiative

    Attorneys general from 23 primarily Republican-led states on Tuesday demanded that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency roll back civil rights regulations that prohibit actions that may unintentionally affect racial groups in different ways.

  • April 17, 2024

    States, Biz Groups Back Fight Over DOE Furnace Rules

    Eighteen states and several business associations are backing gas utility groups' challenge to the U.S. Department of Energy's tighter energy efficiency standards for furnaces and water heaters, telling the D.C. Circuit that the agency is unlawfully forcing a switch to new appliances.

  • April 17, 2024

    FERC Won't Rethink Pacific Northwest Gas Project Approval

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Tuesday stood by its approval of a controversial TC Energy Corp. pipeline expansion project in the Pacific Northwest opposed by Washington and Oregon officials, but Commissioner Allison Clements said there is significant evidence that the project is not needed.

  • April 17, 2024

    Data Co. Seeks Coverage For $250M Lebanon Explosion Suit

    A data services company told a Texas state court that its insurers must defend it in an underlying $250 million lawsuit stemming from the 2020 Port of Beirut explosion in Lebanon which killed over 218 people, maintaining that the insurers have wrongfully refused.

  • April 17, 2024

    Colo. Judge Slams Attys For Petty 'Squabbles' In Patent Fight

    A Colorado federal judge on Wednesday roundly rebuked lawyers fighting over patents for oil and gas equipment for filing "needless" motions that seemed to reflect their "interpersonal squabbles" rather than the interests of their clients, and threatened to sanction the attorneys if they ever drag the court into another petty fight.

  • April 17, 2024

    Contractor Blamed For $4.4M Damage To Wind Turbine

    A Massachusetts company under contract to maintain wind turbines at a wastewater treatment facility in Boston Harbor failed to property shut down one of them after a mechanical problem, leading to further "catastrophic" damage that will cost nearly $4.4 million to address, according to a lawsuit filed in state court.

  • April 17, 2024

    Ariz. Tribes Lose Bid To Block SunZia Power Line Project

    An Arizona federal judge on Tuesday rejected a request by Native American tribes and environmentalists to block work on SunZia's $10 billion transmission line in a southeastern valley known for its historic and cultural significance, finding that their claims are likely time-barred by a six-year statute of limitations that began in 2015.

  • April 17, 2024

    Tesla To Vote On Reviving Musk's $55B Pay, Moving To Texas

    Attorneys for Tesla Inc. notified Delaware's chancellor Wednesday that the company will seek stockholder approval June 13 for the same $55.8 billion Elon Musk compensation plan voided by Chancery Court on Jan. 30, along with reincorporation of Tesla as a Texas company.

  • April 16, 2024

    Cashed Check Kills VW Emissions Deal Appeal, 9th Circ. Says

    The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday threw out an attempt to unravel an $80 million deal resolving consolidated consumer litigation alleging Volkswagen and Porsche manipulated emissions and fuel-economy tests for nearly 500,000 gas-powered vehicles, saying the objector has already cashed his portion of the settlement.

  • April 16, 2024

    Businessman Urges Calif. Court To Refuse $4.4M Award

    A businessman who signed agreements with a Chinese energy management company on behalf of two different investment funds has told a California federal court that he never received proper notice about an arbitration that resulted in a $4.4 million award against him.

  • April 16, 2024

    Tribal Groups Want Full 9th Circ. To Rehear Oak Flat Appeal

    An Apache nonprofit is asking the Ninth Circuit's entire 29-judge panel to review its lawsuit that seeks to block a copper mining company from destroying a sacred Indigenous religious site, arguing that an en banc hearing is warranted given the appellate court's latest split decision on the land transfer.

  • April 16, 2024

    DC Circ. Grills EPA On Nixing Refiners' Biofuel Exemptions

    A D.C. Circuit panel seemed open Tuesday to petroleum refiners' challenge to federal regulators' denial of their exemptions to federal renewable fuel requirements, as the judges grilled attorneys for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on how federal regulators gauge refineries' compliance costs.

  • April 16, 2024

    Vineyard Wind Urges 1st Circ. To Uphold Project Approval

    Developers of an offshore wind energy project near Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, on Tuesday urged the First Circuit not to revive a fishing group's legal challenge to the endeavor, arguing the environmental review process was solid.

  • April 16, 2024

    DOE Aims To Wrap LNG Review By Year-End, Granholm Says

    U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm on Tuesday said her agency hoped to complete the review of its liquefied natural gas export policy by year's end and pushed back on accusations that the current pause of export reviews is permanent.

  • April 16, 2024

    Absent Proof Of Direct Effect, Pa. Sen. Loses Wastewater Row

    A Pennsylvania state senator lacks individual standing to stop the state Department of Environmental Protection from allowing wastewater discharges into a tributary of the Susquehanna River because she hasn't given enough evidence that potential pollution would directly affect her, a state appeals court ruled Tuesday.

  • April 16, 2024

    EPA Urges 5th Circ. To Back Win In Texas Air Quality Suit

    U.S. regulators and the Sierra Club urged the Fifth Circuit not to upset a panel's ruling finding the government legally accepted pollution data from the conservation group to apply a poor air quality designation in two Texas counties surrounding a coal-fired power plant.

  • April 16, 2024

    Atty Fights $268K Sanction Over Fake Newspaper Filing

    A Seattle attorney ordered to pay $268,000 after being accused of filing a fake newspaper called the "The Saudi Sun" as a court exhibit wants the Ninth Circuit to overturn the sanction, arguing that it resulted from judicial misconduct and corruption.

  • April 16, 2024

    Magnesium Capital Clinches €135M Inaugural Fund

    Energy-transition private equity-buyout firm Magnesium Capital, advised by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, on Tuesday announced it had closed its inaugural fund above target after raising €135 million ($143.4 million).

Expert Analysis

  • Where Justices Stand On Chevron Doctrine Post-Argument

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    Following recent oral argument at the U.S. Supreme Court, at least four justices appear to be in favor of overturning the long-standing Chevron deference, and three justices seem ready to uphold it, which means the ultimate decision may rest on Chief Justice John Roberts' vote, say Wayne D'Angelo and Zachary Lee at Kelley Drye.

  • Perspectives

    6 Practice Pointers For Pro Bono Immigration Practice

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    An attorney taking on their first pro bono immigration matter may find the law and procedures beguiling, but understanding key deadlines, the significance of individual immigration judges' rules and specialized aspects of the practice can help avoid common missteps, says Steven Malm at Haynes Boone.

  • Series

    ESG Around The World: Canada

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    In Canada, multiple statutes, regulations, common law and industry guidance address environmental, social and governance considerations, with debate over ESG in the business realm potentially growing on the horizon, say attorneys at Blakes.

  • Lessons From Country Singer's Personal Service Saga

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    Recent reports that country singer Luke Combs won a judgment against a Florida woman who didn’t receive notice of the counterfeit suit against her should serve as a reminder for attorneys on best practices for effectuating service by electronic means, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

  • Opinion

    Farm Bill Gives Congress 2024's Biggest Enviro Opportunity

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    A new Farm Bill, which Congress hopes to get out before mid-2024, is the main legislative opportunity to accelerate the adoption of environmentally friendly practices, as the major environmental laws have been interpreted largely to exempt agriculture from pollution standards that other industries must meet, say Peter Lehner and Carrie Apfel at Earthjustice.

  • What To Expect From High Court In Corp. Disclosure Case

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    Oral argument in Macquarie v. Moab Partners — a case with the potential to significantly alter corporate disclosures and private securities litigation liability — suggests that the U.S. Supreme Court is focused on answering the narrow question presented, say Elizabeth Gingold Clark and Madeleine Juszynski Davidson at Alston & Bird.

  • After Watershed Year, Clean Hydrogen Faces New Challenges

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    Clean hydrogen is on the verge of taking off — but over the course of 2023, it became clear that the regulatory landscape will be more stringent than expected, and the cost and timing of major projects will depend on a number of key developments anticipated in 2024, say attorneys at Weil.

  • A Potential Proactive Tool For Public-Private Joint Ventures

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    In the current environment of heightened antitrust enforcement, the National Cooperative Research and Production Act seems tailor-made for the collaborative work among competitors encouraged by the Biden administration's infrastructure and green energy funding legislation, say Jeetander Dulani and Susan Ebner at Stinson.

  • Will Justices Settle Decades-Old Split On Arbitrator Conflicts?

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    Whether an arbitrator's failure to disclose a potential conflict of interest is sufficient grounds to vacate an arbitration award is the subject of an almost 60-year-old circuit split that the U.S. Supreme Court is positioned to resolve if it grants cert in either of two writs pending before it, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • FERC Actions Signal Concern Over Investors' Utility Stakes

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    Two recent orders and a notice of inquiry from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on the subject of whether large investors are asserting control of public utilities signal increasing regulatory scrutiny of the investment community's influence over the electric power industry, say attorneys at Day Pitney.

  • 3 Areas Of Focus In Congressional Crosshairs This Year

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    Companies must prepare for Congress to build on its 2023 oversight priorities this year, continuing its vigorous inquiries into Chinese company-related investments, workplace safety and labor relations issues, and generative artificial intelligence, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Protections May Exist For Cos. Affected By Red Sea Attacks

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    Companies whose ships or cargo have been affected by the evolving military conflict in the Red Sea, and the countries under whose flags those ships were traveling, may be able to seek redress through legal action against Yemen or Iran under certain international law mechanisms, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • What's On Tap For Public Corruption Prosecutions In 2024

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    All signs point toward another year of blockbuster public corruption prosecutions in 2024, revealing broader trends in enforcement and jurisprudence, and promising valuable lessons for defense strategy, says Kenneth Notter at MoloLamken.

  • Global Cartel Enforcement Looks Set To Intensify In 2024

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    The cartel enforcement winds may strengthen this year, with the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as regulators in other countries, placing a renewed focus on pursuing international cartels and more traditional, hard-core cartel conduct, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.

  • Series

    Baking Bread Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    After many years practicing law, and a few years baking bread, I have learned that there are a few keys to success in both endeavors, including the assembly of a nourishing and resilient culture, and the ability to learn from failure and exercise patience, says Rick Robinson at Reed Smith.

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