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Energy
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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.
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April 10, 2024
Frost Brown Recruits 9 Attys For Denver Launch
Frost Brown Todd LLP said Wednesday it is the latest Big Law firm to launch in Denver, hiring nine mostly real estate attorneys from Moye White LLP, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP and Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie LLP with plans to double in size by the end of the year.
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April 10, 2024
Class Attys Seek Big Payday For $100M Pattern Energy Deal
Class attorneys are urging the Delaware Chancery Court to approve a $100 million settlement to end state and federal court litigation over Pattern Energy Group Inc.'s $6.1 billion go-private sale in 2020 and award them $26 million in fees for a deal they say is the largest of its kind in the Chancery's history.
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April 10, 2024
Children Fight Feds' Bid To Dodge Constitutional Climate Suit
A group of children has fired back at the federal government's attempt to dismiss its California federal court lawsuit alleging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency knowingly allows unsafe levels of climate pollution despite the Constitution guaranteeing "a life-sustaining climate system."
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April 10, 2024
EPA Finalizes First-Ever PFAS Drinking Water Standards
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday announced the final version of its first-ever regulatory limits on "forever chemicals" in drinking water, a move the EPA said will be accompanied by nearly $1 billion in new funding for implementation.
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April 09, 2024
After Uproar, New MDL Rule Advances With Attys Assuaged
Following years of debate and months of outcry, a judicial panel Tuesday approved the first formal rule aimed at improving efficiency and fairness in the nation's burgeoning realm of multidistrict litigation, earning plaudits from placated lawyers in the defense and plaintiffs bars.
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April 09, 2024
Ex-Ohio Utility Chair Dies As Criminal Charges Mount
The onetime chair of Ohio's utility regulator, who was accused of stealing money from FirstEnergy Corp. as part of a bribery scheme behind a controversial $1.3 billion bailout for two nuclear energy plants, died Tuesday in an apparent suicide, the Franklin County Coroner's Office confirmed.
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April 09, 2024
Calif. AG Backs Bill To Revamp 'Abysmal' Corporate Penalties
California Attorney General Rob Bonta gave his full support Tuesday to a state bill that would increase the cap on criminal penalties for corporate malfeasance from the "abysmal penalty" of $10,000 per felony to $25 million, or twice the value of the inflicted loss, and provide all proceeds to California's crime victim services.
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April 09, 2024
What's In The Norfolk Southern $600M Derailment Deal
Last year's fiery Norfolk Southern train derailment and toxic chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio, reached a litigation milestone Tuesday with the disaster's first major settlement, a proposed $600 million deal with nearby residents and businesses, but the rail giant must still contend with a federal investigation and other lawsuits.
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April 09, 2024
Hawaiian Electric Brass Hit With Suit Over Wildfire Preparation
A Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. shareholder has alleged in a derivative suit that the company's executives and directors knew that it was not prepared for last year's deadly Maui wildfire, which caused reputational and financial damage to the company.
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April 09, 2024
Navajo, Mine Operator Look To Settle Last Waste Spill Claims
A New Mexico federal judge has stayed litigation in the Navajo Nation's remaining claims against a Gold King Mine operator stemming from a hazardous waste spill that spurred nearly a decade of litigation after the parties said they reached a settlement in principle.
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April 09, 2024
Nikola Investors' SPAC Fraud Suit Moves Ahead
Board directors of electric truck maker Nikola Corp. and the blank-check company that took it public for $3.3 billion in 2020 must face shareholders' derivative claims of insider trading, securities fraud and merger-related breaches after Delaware's Court of Chancery on Tuesday denied more than half of the defense's motions to dismiss.
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April 09, 2024
Contractor Says Corruption Claims In $47M Army Fight Are False
An Afghanistan-based fuel supplier seeking $47.2 million after the U.S. Army terminated two contracts has urged the Court of Federal Claims to reject government allegations that the company was involved in a corruption scheme, saying those arguments were inaccurate and irrelevant.
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April 09, 2024
Equitrans Hit With $1.1M Pollution Penalties In Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection unveiled more than $1.1 million in civil penalties against Equitrans Midstream Partners LP on Tuesday for violations related to the company's uncontrolled gas release from its Rager Mountain natural gas storage field in Cambria County.
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April 09, 2024
4th Circ. Tosses Duty To Defend Case Over Oil Co.'s Objection
The Fourth Circuit said Tuesday that a West Virginia oil and gas company lacked standing to continue an appeal that was originally brought by a green grower, which had sought coverage from its insurer for an underlying $4 million land use dispute with the extractor.
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April 09, 2024
FTC Pressures Global Partners, Gulf Oil Into Reducing Deal
The Federal Trade Commission took credit Tuesday for raising antitrust concerns spurring the late-February reduction of Global Partners LP's purchase of Northeast U.S. gas terminals from Gulf Oil, cut from five terminals with a $273 million price tag to four terminals and a $212.3 million payment.
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April 09, 2024
Tech M&A Reigns Supreme In Q1 After Rare Hiccup In Q4
The technology sector logged the greatest total value of global mergers and acquisitions in the first quarter of 2024, following a rare quarter that saw the industry fall out of the top spot and into third place, data from Dealogic shows.
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April 09, 2024
Crypto Mining CEO's Asset Freeze Fight Axed At 11th Circ.
An Eleventh Circuit panel has rejected a bid to lift an asset freeze by a man accused of running a crypto mining scheme, ruling U.S. financial industry regulators did not have to formally serve him before asking a court to block activity in his financial accounts.
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April 09, 2024
House GOP To Air Measure Rejecting SEC Climate Rule
The U.S. House of Representatives' Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing Wednesday morning addressing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate disclosure rules, where a leading Republican member of the committee is expected to put forth a resolution that would nullify the rules.
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April 09, 2024
47 Members Of Congress Urge DC Circ. To Ax EPA Smog Plan
Nearly 50 members of Congress called on the D.C. Circuit to strike down the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's plan to reduce smog-forming emissions in several states, arguing that the agency is infringing on states' authority to establish how they achieve federal air quality standards.
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April 09, 2024
Hogan Lovells Adds Baker Botts Enviro Litigators In DC, SF
Hogan Lovells announced Tuesday it has hired three environmental crisis and white collar attorneys from Baker Botts LLP to bolster efforts to steer clients through criminal environmental and workplace safety investigations and other matters.
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April 09, 2024
Locke Lord Slams 'Faulty' Stance On Malpractice Row Venue
Texas-based Locke Lord LLP has objected to an oil company's expert affidavit filed amid a malpractice suit alleging the firm and its former attorney bungled a transaction involving a North Dakota oil refinery project, redoubling its argument that New Jersey state court is not a proper venue for the complaint.
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April 09, 2024
Venezuelan Oil Co. Gets $2B Bond Fraud Suit Nixed In NY
A New York federal judge has nixed VR Capital's lawsuit accusing Venezuela's state-owned oil company of fraud in connection with its issuance of some $2 billion in since-defaulted bonds, ruling that the asset manager couldn't prove that PDVSA had never intended to repay the bonds.
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April 09, 2024
California Can Set Own Emissions Standards, DC Circ. Says
The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday upheld the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Air Act waiver that allows California to set its own greenhouse gas emissions standards for vehicles and run a zero-emission vehicles program, rejecting challenges filed by red states and industry groups.
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April 09, 2024
Latham Adds Allen & Overy Energy And Finance Pro In Calif.
Latham & Watkins LLP is growing its energy team, bringing in an Allen & Overy LLP finance pro as a partner in its Century City office in Los Angeles.
Expert Analysis
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Perspectives
6 Practice Pointers For Pro Bono Immigration Practice
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.
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Series
ESG Around The World: Canada
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.
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Lessons From Country Singer's Personal Service Saga
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.
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Opinion
Farm Bill Gives Congress 2024's Biggest Enviro Opportunity
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.
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What To Expect From High Court In Corp. Disclosure Case
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.
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After Watershed Year, Clean Hydrogen Faces New Challenges
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.
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A Potential Proactive Tool For Public-Private Joint Ventures
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.
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Will Justices Settle Decades-Old Split On Arbitrator Conflicts?
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.
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FERC Actions Signal Concern Over Investors' Utility Stakes
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.
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3 Areas Of Focus In Congressional Crosshairs This Year
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.
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Protections May Exist For Cos. Affected By Red Sea Attacks
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.
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What's On Tap For Public Corruption Prosecutions In 2024
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.
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Global Cartel Enforcement Looks Set To Intensify In 2024
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.
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Series
Baking Bread Makes Me A Better Lawyer
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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Federal Courts And AI Standing Orders: Safety Or Overkill?
Several district court judges have issued standing orders regulating the use of artificial intelligence in their courts, but courts should consider following ordinary notice and comment procedures before implementing sweeping mandates that could be unnecessarily burdensome and counterproductive, say attorneys at Curtis.