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Environmental
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March 22, 2024
Ind. Factory Adds To Historic $112M Bad Faith Coverage Win
A flooded factory building that was awarded $112 million in a historic bad faith win added to its victory Friday when an Indiana federal court denied its insurers' requests for a new trial and granted the factory more than $7 million in costs and interest.
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March 22, 2024
Feds Can't Explain Away Flawed LNG Rule, DC Circ. Told
Conservation groups and a dozen-plus states are urging the D.C. Circuit to throw out a rule allowing liquefied natural gas to be transported by rail, saying the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration glossed over safety, environmental justice and climate concerns, and now asks for deference it doesn't deserve.
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March 22, 2024
IRS Opens Bonus Energy Credits To More Offshore Wind Sites
The Internal Revenue Service unveiled guidance Friday that would allow more parts of offshore wind facilities to qualify for the bonus production and investment tax credits that provide incentives for clean energy projects being built in so-called energy communities.
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March 22, 2024
Push For Camp Lejeune Jury Trials Seen As Long Shot
The legal strategy to secure jury trials in the massive Camp Lejeune water contamination case hangs on a single phrase in a special law stating "nothing" shall impair such trials, but the plaintiffs' gambit is a long shot because Congress didn't go far enough in creating a framework for such trials against the government.
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March 22, 2024
Colo. Water District Illegally Doubled Tax Rate, Panel Says
A water conservancy district violated the Colorado Constitution when it doubled its property tax rate without voter approval, a state appeals court ruled, reversing a lower court's decision against a proposed class of property owners.
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March 22, 2024
DLA Piper Welcomes Energy Attorney To Philly Office
A transactional attorney specializing in advising clients on renewable energy and sustainability projects has moved her practice from Allen & Overy LLP to DLA Piper's Philadelphia office.
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March 21, 2024
FERC Upholds, Clarifies Grid Connection Policy Rewrite
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission affirmed and clarified revised policies finalized last summer that govern how new power projects connect to transmission lines during its monthly meeting Thursday, coinciding with a U.S. Senate committee hearing on President Joe Biden's recent FERC nominations.
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March 21, 2024
6th Circ. Skeptical Of Enbridge's Late Pipeline Suit Transfer
A Sixth Circuit panel questioned how Enbridge Energy LP could move a lawsuit seeking to shut down one of its pipelines to federal court more than two years after it was filed, pressing the company Thursday to justify missing the 30-day cutoff for removals.
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March 21, 2024
DC Circ. Mulls Reach Of EPA's Boiler Emission Limits
A D.C. Circuit panel on Thursday questioned the backward reach of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's updated emissions standards for industrial boilers while appearing amenable to federal regulators' choice of data used to calculate the pollution limits.
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March 21, 2024
Feds Defend Congressional Authority To Reduce HFCs
The EPA is urging the D.C. Circuit to reject coolant industry challenges to a gradual reduction of climate-damaging hydrofluorocarbons, arguing it had a congressional mandate to establish the phase-out and correctly excluded recent years' chemical imports from future quota calculations.
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March 21, 2024
Alaska Fails To Remove ESA Protections For Ringed Seals
An Alaska federal judge on Wednesday rejected the state's effort to eliminate Endangered Species Act protections for Arctic ringed seals.
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March 21, 2024
Cos. Push For Held-Up Power Line Through Wildlife Refuge
Power companies and the U.S. government are asking a Wisconsin federal judge to reject conservation groups' bid to block a land swap allowing the Cardinal-Hickory Creek transmission line to cross the Upper Mississippi National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, with the judge putting any execution of the deal temporarily on hold in advance of a Friday hearing.
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March 21, 2024
Exxon Wants Mass. Oil Purchase Docs In Greenwashing Suit
The Massachusetts attorney general's office told a judge Thursday that Exxon Mobil Corp. is attempting to relitigate already-barred defenses in an alleged "greenwashing" case by seeking documents from at least a dozen state agencies, including ones concerning decisions by those agencies to purchase the energy company's products.
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March 21, 2024
DOL Urges 5th Circ. To Back Biden Admin. ESG Investing Rule
The U.S. Department of Labor urged the Fifth Circuit on Thursday to uphold a rule allowing retirement advisers to consider social issues such as climate change when choosing investments, arguing that conservative states challenging the rule haven't shown it defies federal benefits law.
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March 21, 2024
FERC Nominees Carefully Walk Climate Line In Senate Hearing
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission nominees on Thursday told a U.S. Senate panel that the agency isn't a climate change regulator, but they didn't close the door on FERC ever considering climate impacts in its decision making either.
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March 21, 2024
Feds, Green Groups Say Campbell's Is Polluting Lake Erie
The United States and two environmental groups brought separate complaints on the same day accusing a Campbell's subsidiary of violating the Clean Water Act by polluting Lake Erie and the Maumee River with wastewater from its northwestern Ohio canning facility.
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March 21, 2024
8th Circ. Wins SEC Climate Rule Litigation Lottery
The wave of cases against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently finalized climate disclosure rules will be consolidated and proceed in the Eighth Circuit, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation ordered Thursday, after the agency requested a random draw.
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March 20, 2024
Justices Ask How Texas, NM Can Cut Water Deal Without Feds
U.S. Supreme Court justices on Wednesday questioned whether Texas, New Mexico and Colorado can settle their dispute over Rio Grande water rights without the approval of the federal government — which is arguing the deal could leave the water systems in those states high and dry.
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March 20, 2024
Gas Buyers Want Judge Recused From Shale Cartel Suits
A would-be class of gasoline buyers pursuing antitrust claims against a string of shale oil producers told a Nevada federal judge on Tuesday that her admitted ownership of stock in Exxon Mobil Corp. required her to recuse herself from presiding over the litigation.
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March 20, 2024
SEC Proxy Roundup: Verizon, UPS Escape ESG Proposals
Verizon and UPS may exclude from their proxy statements shareholder proposals on social policy and climate change matters, according to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission staff, who also denied various other requests from corporations looking to escape separate social and politics-related proposals.
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March 20, 2024
EU Insurers Warn Regulators Of Gaps In Greenwashing Rules
European insurers have urged the bloc's insurance and pensions watchdog to be consistent and clear with its greenwashing rules for investment products, pointing to discrepancies between jurisdictions and inconsistencies with other sustainability frameworks.
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March 20, 2024
How The Supreme Court Could Narrow Chevron
After hours of oral argument in a closely watched administrative law case, it appeared that some U.S. Supreme Court justices could be open to limiting the opportunities for lower courts to defer to federal agencies' legal interpretations in disputes over rulemaking — and legal experts said there are a number of ways they could do it.
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March 20, 2024
EPA Tightens Auto Emissions Rules But Relaxes Timetable
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday finalized a rule that requires reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from cars, trucks and vans through 2032, although automakers, labor unions and dealers convinced the EPA to relax its timetable.
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March 20, 2024
Breaking Down Each State's Climate Priority Policies
Forty-five states have now completed climate action plans outlining how they'll advance federal climate goals through policy and programs in coming years, with most focusing at least in part on real estate development as a way to reduce emissions.
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March 20, 2024
Feds Didn't Consider LNG Rule's Impact On Tribe, Court Told
The Puyallup Tribe of Indians has fired back at the U.S. Department of Transportation's defense of a rule permitting bulk rail transport of liquefied natural gas, telling the D.C. Circuit the agency failed to engage in meaningful dialogue during the rule's development.
Expert Analysis
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Working With Emergency Services: Tips For Frontline Attys
The best version of a first responder-crisis lawyer relationship involves one where the first responder can trust the attorney enough to give them all the details, knowing they will exercise discretion in how much they release to the public, say Lauren Brogdon at Haynes Boone, Rick Crawford at the Los Angeles Fire Department and Christopher Sapienza at the Yonkers Police Department.
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California's Offshore Turbine Plans Face Stiff Headwinds
To realize its innovative plans for floating offshore wind farms, California will face numerous challenges as companies investing in the industry will be looking for permitting transparency, predictable timelines, and meaningful coordination between jurisdictions, agencies, and stakeholders, say David Smith and David McGrath at Manatt.
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Attorneys, Law Schools Must Adapt To New Era Of Evidence
Technological advancements mean more direct evidence is being created than ever before, and attorneys as well as law schools must modify their methods to account for new challenges in how this evidence is collected and used to try cases, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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1st Tax Easement Convictions Will Likely Embolden DOJ, IRS
After recent convictions in the first criminal tax fraud trial over allegedly abusive syndicated conservation easements, the IRS and U.S. Department of Justice will likely pursue other promoters for similar alleged conspiracies — though one acquittal may help attorneys better evaluate their clients' exposure, say Bill Curtis and Lauren DeSantis-Then at Polsinelli.
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Analyzing The Legal Ripples Of The EPA's PFAS Regulation
As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency makes major moves on its pledge to regulate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, the developing body of PFAS regulation will lead to an increase in litigation, and personal injury and product liability claims, say attorneys at Gordon & Rees.
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Why Public Cos. Should Also Comply With SEC's Names Rule
While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's updated Names Rule specifically clarifies that funds must consider ESG factors in their investment strategies if their names so imply, public companies should also heed the message and conduct business consistent with the way they market or advertise themselves, says Spencer Feldman at Olshan Frome.
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Insurers Should Prepare For 'Black Swan' Climate Disasters
As rapid climate change results in increased risk of casualties and property loss from rare, severe weather events, the insurance industry should take five crucial steps toward evolving and continuing operations, including advanced analytic techniques and investments in alternative energy sources, say Stephen Brown and Irena Maier at Wilson Elser.
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Series
ESG Around The World: The UK
Following Brexit, the U.K. has adopted a different approach to regulating environmental, social and governance factors from the European Union — an approach that focuses on climate disclosures by U.K.-regulated entities, while steering clear of the more ambitious objectives pursued by the EU, say attorneys at Dechert.
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Tips For Litigating Against Pro Se Parties In Complex Disputes
Litigating against self-represented parties in complex cases can pose unique challenges for attorneys, but for the most part, it requires the same skills that are useful in other cases — from documenting everything to understanding one’s ethical duties, says Bryan Ketroser at Alto Litigation.
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Opinion
Test Results Signal Poor Odds For Lead Cables Litigation
After sites in New York and New Jersey allegedly contaminated with lead by telecommunications cables were found by state and federal agencies to present no imminent threats to public health, it seems unlikely that mass litigation over this issue by plaintiffs firms or state attorneys general will succeed, says Andrew Ketterer at Ketterer & Ketterer.
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New Initiatives Will Advance Corporate Biodiversity Reporting
Two important recent developments — the launch of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures' framework on nature and biodiversity reporting, and Nature Action 100's announcement of the 100 companies it plans to engage on biodiversity issues — will help bring biodiversity disclosures into the mainstream, say David Woodcock and Maria Banda at Gibson Dunn.
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How Justices' Disclosure Ruling May Change Corp. Filings
In the upcoming Macquarie Infrastructure v. Moab Partners case, the U.S. Supreme Court will resolve a circuit split over whether a company may be sued for private securities fraud if they fail to disclose certain financial information in public filings, which may change the way management analyzes industry risks and trends for investors, says Paul Kisslinger at Lewis Brisbois.
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Pro Bono Work Is Powerful Self-Help For Attorneys
Oct. 22-28 is Pro Bono Week, serving as a useful reminder that offering free legal help to the public can help attorneys expand their legal toolbox, forge community relationships and create human connections, despite the challenges of this kind of work, says Orlando Lopez at Culhane Meadows.
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Key Terms Of European Hydrogen Bank's 2023 Pilot Auction
The European Hydrogen Bank is a meaningful step in supporting production of green hydrogen within Europe, although its first auction round may not have the financial firepower needed to make major projects happen in Europe, say attorneys at King & Spalding.
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What US Cos. Should Know About ESG Directives In The EU
Even if U.S. companies don't fall directly within the scope of the EU's directives requiring corporate reporting on human rights and environmental impacts, which will likely be fully enacted next year, they may still be implicated if they are part of an EU business's value chain, so U.S. companies should undertake proactive steps to gain a competitive advantage, say attorneys at DLA Piper.