Energy

  • May 21, 2024

    Valero Brings $37M Refund Claim Over Fuel Credit, Crude Tax

    Energy company Valero is seeking $37 million in tax refunds for biomass fuel mixtures it said should've qualified for the alternative fuel tax credit and for claimed overpayments of crude tax, according to a complaint in Texas federal court.

  • May 21, 2024

    US Steel And Cleveland-Cliffs Spar Over Merits Of Nippon Deal

    U.S. Steel sought to "correct the record" regarding its planned $14.9 billion sale to Nippon Steel on Tuesday, highlighting its continued faith in the deal while blasting what it called a "misinformation campaign" from rival Cleveland-Cliffs.

  • May 21, 2024

    Strategic Hiring Was The New Normal For BigLaw In 2023

    The 400 largest law firms by headcount in the U.S. grew more slowly in 2023 than in the previous two years, while Kirkland & Ellis LLP surpassed the 3,000-attorney threshold, according to the latest Law360 ranking.

  • May 21, 2024

    The Law360 400: Tracking The Largest US Law Firms

    The legal market expanded more tentatively in 2023 than in previous years amid a slowdown in demand for legal services, especially in transactions, an area that has been sluggish but is expected to quicken in the near future.

  • May 21, 2024

    Contractor For Exxon, QatarEnergy LNG Venture Hits Ch. 11

    The general contractor for a liquefied natural gas project co-owned by Exxon Mobil Corp. and QatarEnergy filed for Chapter 11 protection in Texas bankruptcy court Tuesday with more than $1 billion of debt, saying it intends to use the court process to back out of the Texas venture.

  • May 21, 2024

    Texas Oil Co. Sues To Challenge Colo. Regulators' $23M Fine

    A Texas oil and gas company accused Colorado regulators of failing to properly serve violation notices and imposing an "excessive" $23.2 million fine contrary to the rights set forth in the state and U.S. constitutions, in a complaint filed in Colorado state court.

  • May 20, 2024

    Biofuel Groups Urge High Court To Undo 5th Circ. Ruling

    Two biofuel trade associations called on the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to review a Fifth Circuit decision vacating the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's denial of small refiners' requests for exemptions from their renewable-fuel program obligations, highlighting a split with five other circuit courts.

  • May 20, 2024

    Mich. Town Can't Block $2B Battery Plant, Judge Rules

    A Michigan federal judge has ordered that Green Charter Township can't prevent Gotion Inc.'s upcoming battery components plant, in which the company plans on investing more than $2 billion, from moving forward.

  • May 20, 2024

    Conn. Retools Bid To Deny Utility Board Member's Pension

    The state of Connecticut on Monday agreed to retool two paragraphs of a complaint seeking to revoke the pension of a Norwich city employee convicted of misusing funds while serving on a public utility board, a move that a state trial court judge hoped would more swiftly adjudicate the dispute.

  • May 20, 2024

    Oil & Gas Groups Press DC Circ. To Block EPA Methane Rule

    Oil and gas industry groups have urged the D.C. Circuit to block the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's expanded methane emissions control requirements while they're being challenged in court, saying the agency failed to reckon with the requirements' outsized impacts on owners of low-producing oil and gas wells.

  • May 20, 2024

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    Delaware was full of drama last week, as proposed changes to the state's corporate law statutes raised eyebrows and a professor's friend-of-the-court brief sparked a very unfriendly public exchange. Delaware's court of equity banged the gavel on pipeline and social media disputes, and shareholders filed new suits alleging insider trading, vote bungling, unfair stock buybacks and merger shenanigans. In case you missed any of it, here's the recap of all the top news last week from Delaware's Chancery Court.

  • May 20, 2024

    Fried Frank, K&L Gates Lead $950M Sale Of Transportation Biz

    Transportation and distribution services provider Saltchuk Resources Inc., advised by K&L Gates LLP, on Monday announced plans to acquire energy transportation services provider Overseas Shipholding Group Inc., led by Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP, in a take-private transaction valued at $950 million.

  • May 20, 2024

    Justices Stay Out Of Pipeline Land Fight With FERC

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to review the D.C. Circuit decision dismissing a suit challenging the constitutionality of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's eminent domain authority brought by Virginia landowners along the route of the Mountain Valley pipeline.

  • May 17, 2024

    Utah, Farm Groups Ask To Reopen Bears Ears Monument Suit

    The state of Utah and two farming associations have asked a D.C. federal court to lift a more than three-year stay in a tribal case over the Bears Ears National Monument, saying the case is now moot and another monument case is pending before the Tenth Circuit.

  • May 17, 2024

    DC Circ. Probes Carbon Capture In LNG Approval Challenge

    The D.C. Circuit on Friday questioned the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's decision to reapprove a Texas liquefied natural gas terminal without considering the terminal developer's proposal to add environmentally friendly modifications, amid renewed challenges to the agency's authorization of LNG facilities in the Lone Star State.

  • May 17, 2024

    Judge Reluctantly Dismisses FirstEnergy Shareholder Suit

    An Ohio federal judge said Friday that he had no other choice but to dismiss a shareholder lawsuit filed against scandal-plagued utility FirstEnergy Corp., though his reluctance to do so was underscored by a lament that a $180 million settlement brokered in another courtroom left a "shroud of darkness" over a $1 billion bribery scandal. 

  • May 17, 2024

    T. Boone Pickens' Ranch Buyer Can Proceed With TM Suit

    The new owner of the late T. Boone Pickens' luxurious hunting estate in the Texas Panhandle can proceed with a lawsuit accusing a neighboring property owner of infringing the ranch's trademark rights by using them to advertise a land sale, a federal judge concluded Thursday.

  • May 17, 2024

    New Domestic Content Guidance May Boost Energy Credits

    The U.S. Treasury Department's new guidance on bonus tax credits for clean energy projects that source domestic-made materials and components aims to simplify the process for determining eligibility and spur more development to get those extra incentives.

  • May 17, 2024

    Sanctioned Man's Daughter Says Blacklist Inescapable

    A Myanmar woman the U.S. blacklisted based on conclusions her father provided fuel to Myanmar's military regime accused the U.S. government of trapping her on a sanctions list, leaving her unable to support herself or complete studies at Columbia University.

  • May 17, 2024

    Cantor, Lutnick Strike Deal With Window SPAC Investors

    Shareholders of a special purpose acquisition company that took a now-bankrupt smart window manufacturer public have reached a tentative agreement to settle their proposed Delaware Chancery Court class action against Cantor Fitzgerald LP and its billionaire chair and CEO Howard Lutnick.

  • May 17, 2024

    DC Circ. Won't Immediately Block EPA Power Plant GHG Rule

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is clear to implement its new greenhouse gas emissions rule for power plants — at least for now — after the D.C. Circuit on Friday rejected an effort to temporarily block it.

  • May 17, 2024

    Industry Emboldened After Justices Galvanize Agency Attacks

    In the year since the U.S. Supreme Court said "extraordinary" and "far-reaching" attacks on administrative enforcers can skip agency tribunals and go straight to federal district court, ambitious challenges to regulatory powers are rapidly gaining traction, and the high court is poised to put them on an even firmer footing.

  • May 17, 2024

    4 Firms Build $2.55B Sale Of Avangrid To Spain's Iberdrola

    Spanish renewable energy company Iberdrola SA and its portfolio company, sustainable energy business Avangrid, on Friday announced that they have reached an agreement for Iberdrola to take Avangrid private by purchasing the remaining issued and outstanding shares it does not already own in a $2.55 billion deal built by four firms.

  • May 17, 2024

    Wash. Energy Codes Challenged Again After 9th Circ. Decision

    In the wake of a Ninth Circuit ruling that forced Washington officials to revisit regulations on natural gas appliances used in new construction, a group of natural gas companies, homeowners and construction interests are claiming the state's apparent fix is again out of step with federal law.

  • May 17, 2024

    Kilpatrick Brings On Nelson Mullins Energy Pro In Atlanta, DC

    Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP has picked up a new energy regulatory attorney in Atlanta and Washington, D.C., with a diverse background, including working for Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP as well as Google and the South Carolina House of Representatives.

Expert Analysis

  • A Look At FERC's Plan To End Reactive Power Compensation

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    A recent notice of proposed rulemaking indicates that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is likely to eliminate compensation for reactive power within the standard power factor range — causing significant impacts for the electric power industry, which relies on income from providing this service, say Norman Bay and Matthew Goldberg at Willkie and Vivian Chum at Wright & Talisman.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Text Message Data

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    Electronically stored information on cellphones, and in particular text messages, can present unique litigation challenges, and recent court decisions demonstrate that counsel must carefully balance what data should be preserved, collected, reviewed and produced, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • What CRA Deadline Means For Biden Admin. Rulemaking

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    With the 2024 election rapidly approaching, the Biden administration must race to finalize proposed agency actions within the next few weeks, or be exposed to the chance that the following Congress will overturn the rules under the Congressional Review Act, say attorneys at Covington.

  • IP Considerations For Companies In Carbon Capture Sector

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    As companies collaborate to commercialize carbon capture technologies amid massive government investment under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, a coherent intellectual property strategy is more important than ever, including proactively addressing and resolving questions about ownership of the technology, say Ashley Kennedy and James De Vellis at Foley & Lardner.

  • 5 Climate Change Regulatory Issues Insurers Should Follow

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    The climate change landscape for insurers has changed dramatically recently — and not just because of the controversy over the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate-related risk disclosure rules, says Thomas Dawson at McDermott.

  • What's Extraordinary About Challenges To SEC Climate Rule

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    A set of ideologically diverse legal challenges to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate disclosure rule have been consolidated in the Eighth Circuit via a seldom-used lottery system, and the unpredictability of this process may drive agencies toward a more cautious future approach to rulemaking, say attorneys at Thompson Coburn.

  • 8 Questions To Ask Before Final CISA Breach Reporting Rule

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    The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s recently proposed cyber incident reporting requirements for critical infrastructure entities represent the overall approach CISA will take in its final rule, so companies should be asking key compliance questions now and preparing for a more complicated reporting regime, say Arianna Evers and Shannon Mercer at WilmerHale.

  • Series

    Swimming Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Years of participation in swimming events, especially in the open water, have proven to be ideal preparation for appellate arguments in court — just as you must put your trust in the ocean when competing in a swim event, you must do the same with the judicial process, says John Kulewicz at Vorys.

  • A Recipe For Growth Equity Investing In A Slow M&A Market

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    Carl Marcellino at Ropes & Gray discusses the factors bolstering appetite for growth equity fundraising in a depressed M&A market, and walks through the deal terms and other ingredients that set growth equity transactions apart from bread-and-butter venture capital investing.

  • Opinion

    SEC Doesn't Have Legal Authority For Climate Disclosure Rule

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    Instead of making the required legal argument to establish its authority, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate-related disclosure rule hides behind more than 1,000 references to materiality to give the appearance that its rule is legally defensible, says Bernard Sharfman at RealClearFoundation.

  • What 100 Federal Cases Suggest About Changes To Chevron

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    With the U.S. Supreme Court poised to overturn or narrow its 40-year-old doctrine of Chevron deference, a review of 100 recent federal district court decisions confirm that changes to the Chevron framework will have broad ramifications — but the magnitude of the impact will depend on the details of the high court's ruling, say Kali Schellenberg and Jon Cochran at LeVan Stapleton.

  • Opinion

    SEC Should Be Allowed To Equip Investors With Climate Info

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's new rule to require more climate-related disclosures will provide investors with much-needed clarity, despite opponents' attempts to challenge the rule with misused legal arguments, say Sarah Goetz at Democracy Forward and Cynthia Hanawalt at Columbia University’s Sabin Center for Climate Change.

  • How Cos. Can Comply With New PFAS Superfund Rule

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    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's new rule designating two per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances as "hazardous substances" under the Superfund law will likely trigger additional enforcement and litigation at sites across the country — so companies should evaluate any associated reporting obligations and liability risks, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Recent Wave Of SEC No-Action Denials May Be Slowing

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in March granted no-action relief to Verizon and others on the grounds that a director resignation bylaw proposal would mean violating Delaware law, bucking recent SEC hesitation toward such relief and showing that articulating a basis in state law is a viable path to exclude a proposal, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.

  • Don't Use The Same Template For Every Client Alert

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    As the old marketing adage goes, consistency is key, but law firm style guides need consistency that contemplates variety when it comes to client alert formats, allowing attorneys to tailor alerts to best fit the audience and subject matter, says Jessica Kaplan at Legally Penned.

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