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Environmental
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May 13, 2024
High Court Won't Take Up Wyo. Wildfire Suit
The Supreme Court on Monday declined to review a suit by survivors of the 2018 Roosevelt wildfire in Wyoming against the U.S. Forest Service over the government's decisions in fighting the fires.
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May 10, 2024
Rivian's Cert. Oppo Not How 'Real World Works,' Judge Says
A California federal judge told Rivian's attorney Friday that his arguments opposing class certification for investors alleging the carmaker misled them on material costs appeared to say that unless a company practically admits fraud in a disclosure it's not a "corrective" disclosure, but "that is not how the real world works."
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May 10, 2024
Zeekr's US Debut Could Spur More IPOs From China
Electric-vehicle maker Zeekr's robust initial public offering sent an encouraging signal to Chinese companies considering whether to tap U.S. markets after a long lull, despite continued risks stemming from fractured U.S.-China relations, experts said Friday.
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May 10, 2024
Trade Court Lets Solar Duties Suit Proceed Over Feds' Protest
U.S. solar panel manufacturers' suit over a two-year pause on new duties for competitors from four Southeast Asian countries survived the government's push for dismissal this week, with the trade court affirming its authority over the case.
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May 10, 2024
4th Circ. Judge Suspects 'Abuse' In Land Donor Tax Case
The Fourth Circuit appeared poised Friday to rule that a couple owes taxes and penalties after claiming an inflated $5.1 million valuation on donated land for deductions, with one judge positing he believed the couple had engaged in "abuse" of a conservation donation.
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May 10, 2024
Oil Giants Say Tribal Climate Change Row Must Stay Federal
Several giant oil companies are fighting a bid by two Native American tribes to remand their consolidated case to state court, telling a Washington federal district court that the claims brought by tribes have always been governed by federal law.
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May 10, 2024
Solar Co. Stockholders Claim Execs, Board Caused Losses
SunPower's current and former leadership was accused in a derivative shareholder suit of sending the residential solar power company into a financial tailspin by revising financial statements multiple times and causing the stock value to drop.
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May 10, 2024
Enviro Groups Say Colo. Rule Gives Many Polluters An Out
Environmental justice groups say a Colorado regulation that was supposed to require on-site monitoring of air pollution in disproportionately impacted communities allows many polluters to get out of the requirement by paying one-time fees, according to a brief filed in a lawsuit challenging the rule.
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May 10, 2024
EPA Tightens Copper-Smelting Toxic Emissions Standards
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is finalizing regulations it says will reduce toxic, cancer-causing emissions from copper-smelting facilities.
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May 10, 2024
Signal Peak Asks Court To Block DOI's Coal Mine 'Delay'
Signal Peak Energy is asking a D.C. federal court to force the U.S. Department of the Interior to speed up its "unlawfully lengthy" timeline for an environmental review needed for the planned expansion of a Montana coal mine.
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May 10, 2024
Altman's Nuclear Fission Biz Fizzles After SPAC Deal Closes
Shares of Oklo Inc., a nuclear-fission startup backed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, were down nearly 50% on Friday, the company's first day of trading after completing its merger with Altman's special-purpose acquisition company AltC Acquisition Corp.
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May 10, 2024
5th Circ. Upholds SEC Proxy Rule On ESG Disclosures
The Fifth Circuit on Friday threw out a legal challenge to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission requirement that will make it easier for investors to identify ESG issues on corporate ballots, saying that suing states like Texas haven't proven that they'll be financially harmed by the measure.
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May 10, 2024
Climate Group Settles DOJ Claims It Shut Out Noncitizens
A Massachusetts-based nonprofit organization focused on climate action agreed to settle claims it discriminated against non-U.S. citizen job seekers including asylees and green-card holders by inviting only U.S. citizens to apply for jobs, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.
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May 10, 2024
Now Hiring: Michigan AG Seeks Attys For Climate Change Suits
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is looking for attorneys and law firms to serve as assistant attorneys general to pursue litigation related to climate change on behalf of the state of Michigan.
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May 09, 2024
3M, Dupont Want Conn. AG's PFAS Suit To Stay In Fed. Court
Stressing their work for the military, 3M Co. and several entities tied to what was once E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. have opposed a motion by the Connecticut Attorney General's Office to send a PFAS forever chemicals environmental pollution case back to state court.
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May 09, 2024
CARB Chief Slams Truckers' Bid To Void 'Clean Fleets' Rule
A California regulation requiring commercial truck and bus operators to transition to zero-emission vehicle fleets over the next decade doesn't flout federal law and hasn't even been enforced yet, a state official said Wednesday in a court filing seeking to nullify a legal challenge from a trucking group.
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May 09, 2024
Davis Polk, Simpson Thacher Drive EV Maker's $441M IPO
Chinese electrical vehicle maker Zeekr on Thursday priced an upsized $441 million initial public offering, represented by Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP and underwriters' counsel Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, marking the largest U.S. IPO by a China-based company since 2021.
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May 09, 2024
11th Circ. Urged To Reconsider Ruling In Cancer Cluster Case
A group of Florida families asked the Eleventh Circuit on Thursday to reconsider its decision affirming a jury verdict that found defense contractor Pratt & Whitney was not liable for a cancer cluster near the company's former rocket testing site, arguing that the panel affirmed a legally deficient verdict form.
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May 09, 2024
NYC Wins Remand Of Climate Deception Suit Against Exxon
A New York federal judge on Wednesday returned to state court the Big Apple's lawsuit alleging Exxon, BP, Shell and the American Petroleum Institute violated a city consumer protection law by systematically deceiving the public about the climate change impacts of their operations.
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May 09, 2024
Gov't Says It's Already Yielded Camp Lejeune Muster Rolls
The federal government on Wednesday told the North Carolina federal court overseeing litigation over water contamination at the Camp Lejeune base that it has already produced muster rolls and that the court should deny the service members' request to produce more records.
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May 09, 2024
6th Circ. Judge Doubts GM Drivers Can Revive Emissions Suit
A Sixth Circuit judge suggested Thursday that drivers are second-guessing a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency stamp of approval with their claims that General Motors marketed its Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra vehicles as more eco-friendly than they really were.
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May 09, 2024
4th Circ. Chides Insurer For Bid To Escape $5.8M Payout
A Fourth Circuit judge scolded an insurance company in its attempt to get out of a $5.8 million verdict through an exclusion in a general contractor's policy that it tried to trigger for mold cleanup, leaving little doubt Thursday that the panel will uphold the award.
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May 09, 2024
Red States, Electric Co-Ops Challenge EPA Power Plant Rules
Twenty-seven Republican-led states and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association called on the D.C. Circuit Thursday to unravel the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's new source performance standards for greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel-fired electric generating units.
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May 09, 2024
GOP Sens. Call Biden's Bluff On US Steel-Nippon
Three Republican senators urged President Joe Biden on Thursday to block Nippon Steel's planned $14.9 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel, calling his prior comments opposing the deal "worthless" while claiming he has the authority to terminate the deal immediately under laws that address "a national emergency."
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May 09, 2024
EPA Beats Youths' Constitutional Climate Suit, For Now
A California federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit from a group of children accusing the federal government of allowing unsafe levels of climate pollution in the air, noting it's unclear how a declaratory order from the court would redress their harms, but gave them one final chance to amend their allegations.
Expert Analysis
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Practicing Law With Parkinson's Disease
This Parkinson’s Awareness Month, Adam Siegler at Greenberg Traurig discusses his experience working as a lawyer with Parkinson’s disease, sharing both lessons on how to cope with a diagnosis and advice for supporting colleagues who live with the disease.
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Climate Disclosure Mandates Demand A Big-Picture Approach
As carbon emissions disclosure requirements from the European Union, California and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission take effect, the best practice for companies is not targeted compliance with a given reporting regime, but rather a comprehensive approach to systems assessment and management, says David Smith at Manatt.
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Series
Playing Hockey Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Nearly a lifetime of playing hockey taught me the importance of avoiding burnout in all aspects of life, and the game ultimately ended up providing me with the balance I needed to maintain success in my legal career, says John Riccione at Taft.
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ESG Challenges In Focus After Sierra Club Opposes SEC Rule
The Sierra Club's recent objection to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate-related disclosures for investors presents an unusual — pro-disclosure — legal challenge and an opportunity to take a close look at the varying critiques of ESG regulations, say Colin Pohlman, and Jane Luxton and Paul Kisslinger at Lewis Brisbois.
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For Lawyers, Pessimism Should Be A Job Skill, Not A Life Skill
A pessimistic mindset allows attorneys to be effective advocates for their clients, but it can come with serious costs for their personal well-being, so it’s crucial to exercise strategies that produce flexible optimism and connect lawyers with their core values, says Krista Larson at Stinson.
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Illinois EV Charging Act Sparks Developer Concerns
A recent state law in Illinois requiring multifamily housing to provide facilities for electric vehicle charging raises significant concerns for developers over existing infrastructure that isn't up to the task, says Max Kanter at Much Shelist.
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5th Circ. Clarifies What Is And Isn't A 'New Use' Of PFAS
The Fifth Circuit's March 21 decision in Inhance Technologies v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, preventing the EPA from regulating existing uses of PFAS under "significant new use" provisions of the Toxic Substances Control Act, provides industry with much-needed clarity, say Joseph Schaeffer and Sloane Wildman at Babst Calland.
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Opinion
New Mexico Fire Victims Deserve Justice From Federal Gov't
Two years after the largest fire in New Mexico's history — a disaster caused by the U.S. government's mismanagement of prescribed burns — the Federal Emergency Management Agency must remedy its grossly inadequate relief efforts and flawed legal interpretations that have left victims of the fire still waiting for justice, says former New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas.
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Opinion
Requiring Leave To File Amicus Briefs Is A Bad Idea
A proposal to amend the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure that would require parties to get court permission before filing federal amicus briefs would eliminate the long-standing practice of consent filing and thereby make the process less open and democratic, says Lawrence Ebner at the Atlantic Legal Foundation and DRI Center.
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Opinion
Streamlined Mine Regulation Is Key For The Energy Transition
Mining is essential for obtaining the critical minerals required for a transition to greener energy and transportation technologies, but inefficient permitting processes are making it harder to mine these essential materials that will enable a more environmentally sound future, says Scot Anderson at Womble Bond.
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4 Ways To Motivate Junior Attorneys To Bring Their Best
As Gen Z and younger millennial attorneys increasingly express dissatisfaction with their work and head for the exits, the lawyers who manage them must understand and attend to their needs and priorities to boost engagement and increase retention, says Stacey Schwartz at Katten.
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How 3 Unfolding Cases Could Affect The Energy Industry
Three judicial decisions now in the pipeline — Texas' challenge to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's methane regulations, Delaware's climate suit against big energy companies, and a case before the Supreme Court of Texas on royalty lease interpretation — could have important implications for the energy industry, say Michelle Scheffler and Rachael Cox at Skadden.
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How IRA Unlocks Green Energy Investments For Tribes
An Inflation Reduction Act provision going into effect May 10 represents a critical juncture for Native American tribes, offering promising economic opportunity in green energy investment, but requiring a proactive and informed approach when taking advantage of newly available tax incentives, say attorneys at Lewis Brisbois.
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What Nevada 'Superbasin' Ruling Means For Water Users
The Nevada Supreme Court's recent decision in Sullivan v. Lincoln County Water District, affirming that the state can manage multiple predesignated water basins as one "superbasin," significantly broadens the scope of water constraints that project developers in Nevada and throughout the West may need to consider, say attorneys at Perkins Coie.
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Tipsters May Be Key To Financial Regulators' ESG Efforts
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are looking to whistleblowers to assist their climate and ESG task forces, suggesting insider information could be central to the agencies' enforcement efforts against corporate greenwashing, false investment claims and climate disclosure violations, says John Crutchlow at Youman & Caputo.