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Energy
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September 27, 2024
GAO Says DOE Could Save Billions On Hanford Waste Plan
A government watchdog said in a report Friday that the U.S. Department of Energy should heed experts who say the agency could save billions of dollars by distinguishing between high- and lower-level waste at the Hanford Nuclear Site in Washington, one of the biggest cleanups in the world.
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September 27, 2024
Energy Cases To Watch In This US Supreme Court Term
The new U.S. Supreme Court term could be just as action-packed as the previous term was for the energy industry, as the justices will weigh in on how federal agencies conduct environmental reviews and field petitions over climate change policies and lawsuits. Here's a list of energy-related cases to watch this term.
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September 27, 2024
DC Circ. Skeptical Of Transformer Co.'s Union Vote Objections
Judges on the D.C. Circuit pressed an attorney for power transformer company VTCU on why it believes a National Labor Relations Board-overseen vote authorizing a union for the company's workers was flawed when both sides agreed to how it would go down.
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September 27, 2024
Puerto Rico Utility Creditors Seek OK For Bond Claims Suit
Representatives of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority's unsecured creditors are asking a New York federal judge to allow them to contest what they say is the wrongful lumping of $8.4 billion in bondholder claims with their own claims against the utility.
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September 27, 2024
Life Sciences Firms Energize IPO Market As Recovery Builds
Initial public offerings are closing the year's third quarter on an upswing, led mostly by pre-revenue drug developers and select large companies that are seizing opportunities in friendlier capital markets buoyed by interest-rate cuts, generating momentum that experts say could carry over into next year.
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September 27, 2024
GM, LG Get Go-Ahead On $150M EV Battery Settlement
A Michigan federal judge has given preliminary approval to a $150 million settlement to resolve claims that General Motors LLC sold Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicles with faulty batteries made by LG units, finding the deal to be fair and reasonable in resolving the claims.
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September 27, 2024
EPA Will Review Wood Stove Emissions Rules To Settle Lawsuit
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency agreed to revisit its emissions standards for residential wood-burning stoves, resolving 10 states' D.C. federal court lawsuit accusing it of slacking on its obligation to do so.
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September 27, 2024
$36M Oil Cleanup Row Isn't A Case For Fed. Court, Judge Says
An Oklahoma federal court tossed a pipeline owner's lawsuit seeking coverage from its excess insurers for an oil spill on tribal land that it said cost over $36 million to clean up, finding the court lacked the subject matter jurisdiction to hear the case.
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September 27, 2024
Colo. Law Voids Cos.' Coverage Agreement, Judge Rules
An oil and gas production company isn't owed coverage by an electrical drilling company for an underlying lawsuit brought by an injured worker, a Colorado federal judge ruled, finding that defense, indemnification and insurance provisions within the companies' agreement are void under state law.
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September 27, 2024
Arctic Seal Habitat Nixed By Alaska Federal Judge
An Alaska federal judge vacated the National Marine Fisheries Service's designation of critical habitat for bearded seals and Arctic ringed seals.
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September 27, 2024
Houston Firm Gets Time In Zeta MDL To Fend Off DQ Bid
A Texas state judge overseeing a multidistrict litigation created to handle claims stemming from Hurricane Zeta agreed Friday to give a Houston law firm more time to respond to a disqualification bid from plaintiff firm Arnold & Itkin, which says an ex-law clerk who now works for the defense improperly accessed relevant case files.
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September 27, 2024
FERC Can't Defend Backtrack On Grid Plan, DC Circ. Told
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission can't legally justify its about-face on a Southwest Power Pool plan to regionally allocate the costs of some transmission projects within the grid operator's 14-state footprint, the D.C. Circuit heard.
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September 27, 2024
Ill. Justices Won't Hear Baker McKenzie's London Transfer Bid
Illinois' top court has declined to take on a petition from Chicago-based Baker McKenzie urging the justices to send to London a malpractice suit accusing the firm of botching a client's bid to reacquire a Russian coal mine.
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September 27, 2024
Taxation With Representation: Kirkland, Skadden, Cleary
In this week's Taxation With Representation, Blackstone and Vista Equity Partners acquire Smartsheet Inc., Macquarie Asset Management takes a stake in D.E. Shaw Renewables Investment Group, and Apogee Enterprises Inc. buys UW Interco LLC from Heartwood Partners.
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September 27, 2024
EPA, Ohio Refinery Ink $169M Wastewater Cleanup Deal
A Cenovus Energy unit has reached a $169 million deal to resolve the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's complaint over pollution from a petroleum refinery in Lima, Ohio, the U.S. Department of Justice and the EPA announced Friday.
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September 26, 2024
EU Says DC Circ. Must Reconsider $395M Spain Award Suits
The European Commission has urged the D.C. Circuit to reconsider its decision that U.S. district courts have jurisdiction to enforce about $395 million in arbitral awards issued against European Union member state Spain by private tribunals convened under the Energy Charter Treaty.
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September 26, 2024
Spain Can't Escape $26M Award, DC Judge Rules
A D.C. federal judge on Thursday enforced a €23.5 million ($26.3 million) arbitral award issued against Spain after the country dialed back its renewable energy incentives, rejecting Madrid's argument that the tribunal had infringed the authority of European Union courts.
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September 26, 2024
Donziger Unveils Plan To Launch Impact Litigation Fund
Sitting before an intimate audience of environmental investors and business leaders, disbarred environmental lawyer Steven Donziger recounted his 30-year battle with Chevron Corp. and its predecessor Texaco Inc. in Manhattan on Thursday, before laying out his plan to launch an impact litigation fund.
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September 26, 2024
Oil Co. Can Escape Most Claims In Shell Fraud Suit
A federal judge trimmed most of the claims from a lawsuit brought by a group of Western Pennsylvania landowners who say a Royal Dutch Shell PLC subsidiary fraudulently sold off $9.5 billion of its assets to avoid the possibility of being subject to a judgment in a separate lawsuit.
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September 26, 2024
$30M Deal Reached In 'Intoxicated' Oil Co. Truck Driver Suit
A woman who sued a Texas oil company claiming that an intoxicated employee crashed a company pickup truck head first into her minivan while she was at a red light is set to get a $30 million settlement, attorneys for the plaintiff announced Monday.
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September 26, 2024
Causation Claim Came Early, BP Spill Workers Tell 11th Circ.
Cleanup workers of BP's Deepwater Horizon spill who say they were sickened by exposure to crude oil urged the Eleventh Circuit Thursday to reverse a judgment in favor of the company, arguing a Florida judge jumped the gun in tossing expert testimony about the links between their work and the respiratory conditions the workers say they developed.
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September 26, 2024
Tribunal Halts $52.8M German Tax Collection Against Oil Cos.
German tax authorities shouldn't collect a windfall profits tax totaling at least €47.2 million ($52.8 million) from two oil refineries before the dispute has been litigated, a tribunal of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes said.
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September 26, 2024
Feds Split $71M Clean Energy Award Between 13 Tribes
The Biden administration is investing $71 million to electrify homes in 13 tribal communities across Indian Country in an effort to close ongoing access to electricity gap problems with clean energy sources.
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September 26, 2024
VivoPower Keeps HQ In UK To Qualify For $21B Gov't Program
Sustainable energy solutions company VivoPower International PLC and hydrogen technology business Future Automotive Solutions and Technologies on Thursday outlined additional terms to their proposed $1.13 billion merger, including settling the combined company's headquarters in the U.K. in order to qualify for potential "significant and attractive" government incentives.
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September 26, 2024
Steel Cos. Urge Feds To Probe Thai Pipes For Duty Evasion
Domestic steel companies and a labor union urged the U.S. Department of Commerce to investigate oil and gas pipe imports, alleging that foreign importers are skirting antidumping and countervailing duties on Chinese steel pipes by shipping them through Thailand.
Expert Analysis
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A Look At M&A Conditions After FTC's Exxon-Pioneer Nod
The Federal Trade Commission's recent consent decree imposing several conditions on Exxon Mobil's acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources helps illustrate key points about the current merger enforcement environment, including the probability of further investigations in the energy and pharmaceutical sectors, say Ryan Quillian and John Kendrick at Covington.
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Opinion
US Solar Import Probe's Focus On China Is Misguided
The U.S. Department of Commerce's recent anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigation focuses on the apparent Chinese ownership of solar device importers in four Southeast Asian countries — a point that is irrelevant under the controlling statute, says John Anwesen at Lighthill.
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3 Recent Decisions To Note As Climate Litigation Heats Up
Three recent rulings on climate-related issues — from a New York federal court, a New York state court and an international tribunal, respectively — demonstrate both regulators' concern about climate change and the complexity of conflicting regulations in different jurisdictions, say J. Michael Showalter and Robert Middleton at ArentFox Schiff.
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Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: May Lessons
In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses four notable circuit court decisions on topics from automobile insurance to securities — and provides key takeaways for counsel on issues including circuit-specific ascertainability requirements and how to conduct a Daubert analysis prior to class certification.
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New TSCA Risk Rule Gives EPA Broad Discretion On Science
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recent final amendments to its framework for evaluating the risks of chemical substances under the Toxic Substances Control Act give it vast discretion over consideration of scientific information, without objective criteria to guide that discretion, say John McGahren and Debra Carfora at Morgan Lewis.
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Perspectives
Trauma-Informed Legal Approaches For Pro Bono Attorneys
As National Trauma Awareness Month ends, pro bono attorneys should nevertheless continue to acknowledge the mental and physical effects of trauma, allowing them to better represent clients, and protect themselves from compassion fatigue and burnout, say Katherine Cronin at Stinson and Katharine Manning at Blackbird.
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Key Insurance Considerations After $725M Benzene Verdict
The recent massive benzene verdict in Gill v. Exxon Mobil will certainly trigger insurance questions — and likely a new wave of benzene suits — so potential defendants should study Radiator Specialty v. Arrowood Indemnity, the only state high court decision regarding benzene claim coverage, says Jonathan Hardin at Perkins Coie.
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Series
Playing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My deep and passionate involvement in playing, writing and producing music equipped me with skills — like creativity, improvisation and problem-solving — that contribute to the success of my legal career, says attorney Kenneth Greene.
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Contractors Must Prep For FAR Council GHG Emissions Rule
With the U.S. Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council expected to finalize its proposed rule on the disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions and climate-related financial risk this year, government contractors should take key steps now to get ready, say Thomas Daley at DLA Piper, Steven Rothstein at the Ceres Accelerator for Sustainable Capital Markets, and John Kostyack at Kostyack Strategies.
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How Attys Can Avoid Pitfalls When Withdrawing From A Case
The Trump campaign's recent scuffle over its bid to replace its counsel in a pregnancy retaliation suit offers a chance to remind attorneys that many troubles inherent in withdrawing from a case can be mitigated or entirely avoided by communicating with clients openly and frequently, says Christopher Konneker at Orsinger Nelson.
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Opinion
We Need A Legislative Path To Power Plant Emissions Cuts
With the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's newest regulation targeting power plant carbon emissions likely to be overturned by courts or a future administration, it's time for bipartisan legislation to preserve affordable, reliable electricity while substantially decarbonizing the sector by midcentury, say Jeffrey Holmstead at Bracewell and Samuel Thernstrom at the Energy Innovation Reform Project.
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Using A Children's Book Approach In Firm Marketing Content
From “The Giving Tree” to “Where the Wild Things Are,” most children’s books are easy to remember because they use simple words and numbers to tell stories with a human impact — a formula law firms should emulate in their marketing content to stay front of mind for potential clients, says Seema Desai Maglio at The Found Word.
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2 Oil Trader FCPA Pleas Highlight Fine-Reduction Factors
Recent Foreign Corrupt Practices Act settlements with Gunvor and Trafigura — the latest actions in a yearslong sweep of the commodities trading industry — reveal useful data points related to U.S. Department of Justice policies on cooperation credit and past misconduct, say Michael DeBernardis and Laura Perkins at Hughes Hubbard.
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Opinion
NEPA Final Rule Unlikely To Speed Clean Energy Projects
A recent final rule from the White House Council on Environmental Quality purports to streamline federal environmental reviews to accelerate the construction of renewable energy infrastructure — but it also expands consideration of climate change and environmental justice, creating vast new opportunities for litigation and delay, says Thomas Prevas at Saul Ewing.
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Tips For Companies Tapping Into Commercial Cleantech
A recent report from the European Patent Office and European Investment Bank examining the global financing and commercialization of cleantech innovation necessary for the green energy transition can help companies understand and solve the issues in developing and implementing the full potential of cleantech, says Eleanor Maciver at Mewburn Ellis.