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Energy
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April 03, 2024
Roadless Rule Doesn't Suit The Tongass, Alaska, Allies Argue
The state of Alaska, electric utilities, and a coalition of towns, mining and business groups, as well as a former Last Frontier governor, are all urging a federal judge to overturn the Biden administration's decision to reinstate roadless area protections for millions of acres of the Tongass National Forest.
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April 03, 2024
EU Probing Solar Project Under Foreign Subsidy Rules
European enforcers launched a pair of investigations Wednesday to assess whether companies bidding on a solar project in Romania received an unfair advantage through foreign subsidies.
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April 03, 2024
Chubby Checker Boyhood Home To Sell In Ponzi Receivership
The childhood home of acclaimed '60s rock-and-roller Chubby Checker will get a new owner after a Texas federal court found that a sale is in the best interest of a receivership in a $185 million alleged Ponzi scheme involving two precious metals dealers who swindled senior citizens.
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April 03, 2024
Retailer BJ's Joins Fight Against Conn. Power Lines Project
BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. has joined a sprawling legal fight challenging a Connecticut state agency's approval of an electric transmission line replacement project along the Metro-North railroad corridor in Fairfield and Bridgeport, adding its own lawsuit to a stack of litigation by local governments, churches and others.
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April 03, 2024
NJ Judge Grants Initial OK Of $2.7M EV Maker Investor Deal
A New Jersey federal judge granted preliminary approval to a $2.7 million deal between investors and executives of an electric vehicle company after it went bankrupt, after finding his prior hesitations concerning the deal's notice plan had been resolved.
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April 03, 2024
Industry Groups Ask DC Circ. To Toss EPA Smog Plan
Industry groups have urged the D.C. Circuit to strike down the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's plan to reduce smog-forming emissions in several states, saying the federal agency cannot forge ahead with a diminished version of the regulations.
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April 03, 2024
NY High Court Ruling Significance Debated In $2B Note Suit
VR Capital and Venezuela's state-owned oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela SA, both told a federal court on Tuesday that a ruling from New York's highest court, which cleared a path for PDVSA to argue that nearly $2 billion in defaulted notes are invalid under its domestic law, benefits their case.
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April 03, 2024
Pool Pump Co. Says 3rd Circ. Must Vacate New Energy Rule
Pool products maker Zodiac Pool Systems LLC went to the Third Circuit Wednesday to challenge a new U.S. Department of Energy rule that the company says goes beyond the department's legal authority by setting energy conservation standards for pool pumps, which Zodiac asserts are exempt from such regulations.
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April 03, 2024
Enviro Group Sues DOE Over $1.1B Diablo Canyon Award
Environmental group Friends of the Earth slapped the U.S. Department of Energy with a complaint in California federal court seeking to unravel the agency's $1.1 billion award for the continued operation of the state's last remaining nuclear power plant.
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April 03, 2024
5th Circ. Unsure Miners Can Escape Pecan Farm Flood Verdict
Fifth Circuit judges on Wednesday suggested that the owner of an open gravel mine on the bank of the Colorado River could have a tough time in its bid to avoid responsibility for devastating flooding at a pecan farm across the river.
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April 03, 2024
Gov't Says Alaska Gold Mine Approvals Should Stand
The U.S. government is defending its approvals for a large open-pit gold mine along the Kuskokwim River in southwest Alaska, telling a federal judge a half dozen tribes challenging them fail to show that agencies did not take the required "hard look" at project impacts.
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April 03, 2024
Top 10 Deals Of Q1 Led By GE Energy Spinoff, Capital One
It may be wishful thinking to imagine that earlier hopes for a major rebound in 2024 mergers and acquisitions activity will pan out, but by many indications the year was at least off to a better start than 2023.
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April 03, 2024
Oil Company Says Judge's Recusal Not Needed In Cartel Suits
Pioneer Natural Resources Co. fired back at gasoline buyers' attempt to recuse a Nevada federal judge from the parties' antitrust litigation over her stock ownership in ExxonMobil Corp., arguing that the company isn't a party to the case, and that the litigation should be transferred to Texas.
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April 03, 2024
Akin Adds Former Hunton Energy Leader In Houston
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP announced Wednesday that it has bulked up its Houston roster with a partner who previously led the energy transactions practice at Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP.
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April 02, 2024
Gas Tycoon Owes $100M To UBS, Lenders After Trial Loss
Energy titan Charif Souki owes more than $100 million to lenders, including a fund managed by a UBS division, a U.S. bankruptcy judge has ruled, rejecting Souki's claims that his lenders recklessly sold off collateral posted for the loan, including a luxury yacht, a Colorado ranch and shares of his liquefied natural gas export business Tellurian Inc.
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April 02, 2024
3rd Circ. Preview: Black Lung, Back Pay On Tap In April
The Third Circuit this month will consider Keystone Coal Mining Co.'s contention that a lower court erred in deeming a miner's black lung a "total disability," while a shuttered rehabilitation facility has asked the court to undo the National Labor Relations Board's determination that it owes unionized employees back pay and bonuses for work done during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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April 02, 2024
Utility Cos. Must Face Uri MDL Gross Negligence Claims
Transmission and distribution utility providers can't escape allegations they were grossly negligent in cutting off power to Texans during winter storm Uri, a Texas state appeals court ruled Tuesday in an opinion that keeps intact only two claims against the companies in the multidistrict litigation created to handle consumer actions from the severe weather event.
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April 02, 2024
Tesla Pushed On La. Antitrust Claims In 5th Circ.
Tesla Inc.'s claims that Louisiana car dealers and regulators illegally excluded the direct-sale automaker from the state's market met a Fifth Circuit panel Tuesday that questioned how the case might be impacted by a Pelican State probe into the company's allegedly unlawful conduct.
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April 02, 2024
Insurer Sues For Oxbow Director Legal Fees In Crestview Suit
An insurer for two former Oxbow Carbon LLC directors sued the company in Delaware's Court of Chancery on Monday seeking recovery of millions paid to defend the pair in a long-running battle dating to 2016 over investor efforts to force a sale of the multifaceted energy company.
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April 02, 2024
4 Mass. Rulings You May Have Missed In March
A former Harvard Business School professor who was denied tenure after his angry emails to a restaurant went viral was among the winners from a slate of recent Massachusetts state court decisions, which also addressed claims about "forever chemicals" in firefighting gear and a popular gym shut down during the pandemic.
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April 02, 2024
Ohio Regulator Urges Justices To Review FERC Deadlock Rule
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Third Circuit's decision upholding a rule change from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that took effect despite a commissioner deadlock, arguing that the appellate court didn't apply a fitting standard.
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April 02, 2024
Adams And Reese Can't Use Free Speech Law To Avoid Suit
In finding that a Texas free speech law does not shield Adams and Reese LLP from a malpractice suit brought by an electrical subcontractor, a state appellate court said Tuesday that it was the law firm's alleged "failures to communicate" that is at issue.
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April 02, 2024
Former Trump EPA Leader Joins Holland & Hart In DC
Holland & Hart LLP has added the leader of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the Trump administration to its Washington, D.C., office as part of the firm's strategic growth in the country's capital.
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April 02, 2024
3 Firms Guide Safety Testing Group UL's Estimated $770M IPO
Safety science company UL Solutions Inc. on Tuesday unveiled a price range for an estimated $770 million initial public offering under the guidance of three law firms, marking the third company to launch IPO plans this week.
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April 02, 2024
Another Judge Says Feds Overstepped With GHG Rule
A Kentucky federal judge has sided with Kentucky and 20 other Republican-led states, ruling that the Federal Highway Administration overstepped its authority with a rule directing states to set targets for reducing carbon dioxide emissions from federally funded highway projects.
Expert Analysis
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Opinion
Legal Profession Gender Parity Requires Equal Parental Leave
To truly foster equity in the legal profession and to promote attorney retention, workplaces need to better support all parents, regardless of gender — starting by offering equal and robust parental leave to both birthing and non-birthing parents, says Ali Spindler at Irwin Fritchie.
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Business Takeaways From Biden's Global Labor Rights Memo
President Joe Biden's recent memorandum on protecting worker rights is one of the most expansive statements the administration has made regarding international labor rights policy, and reflects several points of which businesses should take note, including the government’s interest in working with the private sector on these issues and a notable focus on the transition to clean energy, say Tom Plotkin and Pegah Nabili at Covington.
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Superfund Site Reopenings Carry Insured Risk, Opportunity
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's reported plans to reopen certain Superfund sites citing the presence of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances raise notable liability concerns, but may also present unique opportunities for policyholders under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, say attorneys at Haynes and Boone.
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Why NYC Building Owners Shouldn't Ignore Emissions Rule
New rules from the New York City Department of Buildings clarify the previously vague good faith efforts that building owners may make to mitigate penalties for not complying with a major carbon emission law that takes effect in January, and should discourage owners from simply paying the fines instead of decarbonizing, says William McCracken at Moritt Hock.
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New Regs Will Strengthen Voluntary Carbon Offset Market
Voluntary carbon offsets are a vital tool for organizations seeking to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions — and recent efforts by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the state of California and others are essential to enhancing the reliability and authenticity of carbon credits, says David Smith at Manatt.
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Series
Writing Thriller Novels Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Authoring several thriller novels has enriched my work by providing a fresh perspective on my privacy practice, expanding my knowledge, and keeping me alert to the next wave of issues in an increasingly complex space — a reminder to all lawyers that extracurricular activities can help sharpen professional instincts, says Reece Hirsch at Morgan Lewis.
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Unpacking Long-Awaited Clean Energy Tax Credit Guidance
Recently proposed Internal Revenue Service regulations provide welcome confirmatory guidance on the application of investment tax credits as reworked by 2022's Inflation Reduction Act, prevailing wage and apprenticeship rules that are largely consistent with market expectations, and broader eligibility criteria that should please the wind power industry in particular, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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What Lawyers Must Know About Calif. State Bar's AI Guidance
Initial recommendations from the State Bar of California regarding use of generative artificial intelligence by lawyers have the potential to become a useful set of guidelines in the industry, covering confidentiality, supervision and training, communications, discrimination and more, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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Industry Must Elevate Native American Women Attys' Stories
The American Bar Association's recent research study into Native American women attorneys' experiences in the legal industry reveals the glacial pace of progress, and should inform efforts to amplify Native voices in the field, says Mary Smith, president of the ABA.
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Expanding EPA's Universal Waste Rule For Renewable Energy
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to modify and expand the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act's universal waste rule to include lithium batteries and solar panels next year, which could intensify current standards in some cases, but weaken them in others, says Aaron Goldberg at Beveridge & Diamond.
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Understanding Discovery Obligations In Era Of Generative AI
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Attorneys and businesses must adapt to the unique discovery challenges presented by generative artificial intelligence, such as chatbot content and prompts, while upholding the principles of fairness, transparency and compliance with legal obligations in federal civil litigation, say attorneys at King & Spalding.
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Calif. Resource Adequacy Update May Revalue Power Projects
The California Public Utilities Commission's recently initiated proceeding to overhaul its resource adequacy framework — part of an effort to maintain the reliability of the state's power system while decarbonizing it — could have significant effects on the valuation of existing and future power generation resources, say Nicholas Gladd and Max Learner at Wilson Sonsini.
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Forecasting The Impact Of High Court Debit Card Rule Case
John Delionado and Aidan Gross at Hunton consider how the U.S. Supreme Court's forthcoming ruling in a retailer's suit challenging a Federal Reserve rule on debit card swipe fees could affect agency regulations both new and old, as well as the businesses that might seek to challenge them.
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Series
ESG Around The World: Mexico
ESG has yet to become part of the DNA of the Mexican business model, but huge strides are being made in that direction, as more stakeholders demand that companies adopt, at the least, a modicum of sustainability commitments and demonstrate how they will meet them, says Carlos Escoto at Galicia Abogados.
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The Case For Post-Bar Clerk Training Programs At Law Firms
In today's competitive legal hiring market, an intentionally designed training program for law school graduates awaiting bar admission can be an effective way of creating a pipeline of qualified candidates, says Brent Daub at Gilson Daub.