Environmental

  • April 17, 2024

    Florida Pleads With Judge To Stay Water Permit Ruling

    Florida called on a D.C. federal judge to pause his ruling vacating the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's approval of the state's application to assume control of a Clean Water Act permitting program, amid its D.C. Circuit appeal.

  • April 17, 2024

    Reps. Want To Exempt Water Utilities From PFAS Liability

    A bipartisan duo of congressional lawmakers is pushing a bill that would exempt some public water systems, municipalities and other entities from liability for violations of federal "forever chemical" regulations.

  • April 17, 2024

    FERC Won't Rethink Pacific Northwest Gas Project Approval

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Tuesday stood by its approval of a controversial TC Energy Corp. pipeline expansion project in the Pacific Northwest opposed by Washington and Oregon officials, but Commissioner Allison Clements said there is significant evidence that the project is not needed.

  • April 17, 2024

    No Redo For Insurer In Hail Damage Dispute, Judge Says

    A Texas federal court refused to rethink its ruling denying an insurer's early win in a hail damage coverage dispute with a textile company, saying the insurer provided no new information that could change the court's finding or establish the court's manifest error.

  • April 17, 2024

    Ariz. Tribes Lose Bid To Block SunZia Power Line Project

    An Arizona federal judge on Tuesday rejected a request by Native American tribes and environmentalists to block work on SunZia's $10 billion transmission line in a southeastern valley known for its historic and cultural significance, finding that their claims are likely time-barred by a six-year statute of limitations that began in 2015.

  • April 17, 2024

    Waste Co. Strikes Deal To End 401(k) Mismanagement Suit

    A waste management company reached an agreement to end a former worker's proposed class action claiming it breached federal benefits law by stacking its $813 million retirement plan with needlessly expensive funds, according to a filing in Massachusetts federal court.

  • April 17, 2024

    Feds, Tribe Say Settlement Talks Failed In Water Pipeline Row

    The Tonawanda Seneca Nation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service asked a New York federal court to opt out of mediation talks after the tribe said the agency refused its settlement offer in litigation challenging a right-of-way permit for a wastewater pipeline.

  • April 16, 2024

    Cashed Check Kills VW Emissions Deal Appeal, 9th Circ. Says

    The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday threw out an attempt to unravel an $80 million deal resolving consolidated consumer litigation alleging Volkswagen and Porsche manipulated emissions and fuel-economy tests for nearly 500,000 gas-powered vehicles, saying the objector has already cashed his portion of the settlement.

  • April 16, 2024

    Tribal Groups Want Full 9th Circ. To Rehear Oak Flat Appeal

    An Apache nonprofit is asking the Ninth Circuit's entire 29-judge panel to review its lawsuit that seeks to block a copper mining company from destroying a sacred Indigenous religious site, arguing that an en banc hearing is warranted given the appellate court's latest split decision on the land transfer.

  • April 16, 2024

    DC Circ. Grills EPA On Nixing Refiners' Biofuel Exemptions

    A D.C. Circuit panel seemed open Tuesday to petroleum refiners' challenge to federal regulators' denial of their exemptions to federal renewable fuel requirements, as the judges grilled attorneys for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on how federal regulators gauge refineries' compliance costs.

  • April 16, 2024

    Vineyard Wind Urges 1st Circ. To Uphold Project Approval

    Developers of an offshore wind energy project near Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, on Tuesday urged the First Circuit not to revive a fishing group's legal challenge to the endeavor, arguing the environmental review process was solid.

  • April 16, 2024

    DOE Aims To Wrap LNG Review By Year-End, Granholm Says

    U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm on Tuesday said her agency hoped to complete the review of its liquefied natural gas export policy by year's end and pushed back on accusations that the current pause of export reviews is permanent.

  • April 16, 2024

    Feds, PPG Reach $22.8M Deal To Clean Up NJ Superfund Site

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency unveiled a settlement with PPG Industries Inc. on Tuesday under which the company has agreed to cough up more than $22.8 million to cover the estimated future cleanup costs and maintenance at the Riverside Industrial Park Superfund Site in Newark, New Jersey.

  • April 16, 2024

    Absent Proof Of Direct Effect, Pa. Sen. Loses Wastewater Row

    A Pennsylvania state senator lacks individual standing to stop the state Department of Environmental Protection from allowing wastewater discharges into a tributary of the Susquehanna River because she hasn't given enough evidence that potential pollution would directly affect her, a state appeals court ruled Tuesday.

  • April 16, 2024

    EPA Urges 5th Circ. To Back Win In Texas Air Quality Suit

    U.S. regulators and the Sierra Club urged the Fifth Circuit not to upset a panel's ruling finding the government legally accepted pollution data from the conservation group to apply a poor air quality designation in two Texas counties surrounding a coal-fired power plant.

  • April 16, 2024

    9th Circ. Upholds $64M Award In Water Contamination Suit

    The Ninth Circuit upheld a $64 million award against a Parker Hannifin unit for cleanup costs tied to groundwater contamination in California's Santa Clarita Valley, and further held the district court erred in denying a finding of liability against the company.

  • April 16, 2024

    Florida Lost Its CWA Permitting Power. Now What?

    A federal judge's decision to snatch away Florida's right to administer a Clean Water Act permitting program, which had been approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, serves as a warning to other states that might be considering taking over those powers and responsibilities.

  • April 16, 2024

    W&T Offshore Accuses Pipeline Co. Of $3M Per Month Losses

    A Gulf of Mexico oil producer claims it is losing millions of dollars a month from regulators' forced shut-in of a pipeline network it depends on in a lawsuit filed in Texas federal court alleging the pipeline company violated their contract to follow U.S. law and keep the line operating.

  • April 16, 2024

    Activist Axes $3.6B SilverBow Merger Plan Amid Proxy Fight

    New York-based asset manager Kimmeridge said Tuesday it has scrapped its March offer to create a $3.6 billion Eagle Ford shale operator by combining the assets of Kimmeridge Texas Gas with those of shale driller SilverBow Resources, stating it will now focus on getting its three nominees elected to SilverBow's board. 

  • April 16, 2024

    AIG Unit Must Cover $20M Botched Tunnel Project, Court Told

    A Michigan county's water resources commissioner and sewage disposal system accused an AIG unit of failing to arbitrate their coverage claims over a design contractor's faulty work on a tunnel project, claiming they've suffered more than $20 million in damages.

  • April 16, 2024

    High Court Sides With Texas Landowners In Takings Dispute

    The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday in favor of landowners in a dispute with Texas, finding the owners can pursue their takings claim pursuant to state law but leaving open a larger Fifth Amendment takings question.

  • April 16, 2024

    DOL Finalizes Rule To Curb Miners' Exposure To Silica Dust

    A U.S. Department of Labor agency released final regulations Tuesday that tighten limits on miners' exposure to workplace silica dust, a toxic substance that increases the risk of death and chronic health conditions.

  • April 15, 2024

    Ocean Agency Requires Cos. To Cover Well Razing Costs

    The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management on Monday unveiled a final rule aimed at ensuring oil and gas companies, and not taxpayers, are the ones footing the bill for decommissioning offshore wells and infrastructure.

  • April 15, 2024

    Colo. Ski Resort's Snowmaking Suit More Than A Decade Late

    A Colorado federal judge on Monday tossed a lawsuit over a ski resort's permit to make snow using a nearby watershed that is a habitat for an imperiled trout species, siding with the U.S. Forest Service in concluding the resort's owner and operator should've filed the claim more than a decade earlier.

  • April 15, 2024

    Justices Leave Lower Courts To Parse Corporate 'Half-Truths'

    A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that corporate silence isn't enough to form the basis of a securities fraud suit pointedly declined to wade into the question of what counts as a "half-truth," leaving it to lower courts to wrestle with which corporate statements are blurry enough to sustain a shareholder class action.

Expert Analysis

  • Preparing Law Students For A New, AI-Assisted Legal World

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    As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms the legal landscape, law schools must integrate technology and curricula that address AI’s innate challenges — from ethics to data security — to help students stay ahead of the curve, say Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics, Ryan Abbott at JAMS and Karen Silverman at Cantellus Group.

  • Series

    ESG Around The World: South Korea

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    Numerous ESG trends have materialized in South Korea in the past three years, with impacts ranging from greenwashing prevention and carbon neutrality measures to workplace harassment and board diversity initiatives, say Chang Wook Min and Hyun Chan Jung at Jipyong.

  • How Social Media Can Affect Trial Outcomes

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    With social media’s ability to seize upon an issue and spin it into a specifically designed narrative, it is more critical than ever that a litigation communications strategy be part of trial planning to manage the impact of legal action on a company's reputation, say Sean Murphy and Steve Wood at Courtroom Sciences.

  • General Counsel Need Data Literacy To Keep Up With AI

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    With the rise of accessible and powerful generative artificial intelligence solutions, it is imperative for general counsel to understand the use and application of data for myriad important activities, from evaluating the e-discovery process to monitoring compliance analytics and more, says Colin Levy at Malbek.

  • Illinois Trump Tower Ruling Illuminates Insurance 'Occurrence'

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    In Continental Casualty v. 401 North Wabash Venture, an Illinois appellate court found that Trump Tower was not entitled to insurance coverage for operating its HVAC system without a permit, helping to further define a widely litigated general liability insurance issue — what constitutes an "occurrence," say Robert Tugander and Greg Mann at Rivkin Radler.

  • A Look At Successful Bid Protests In FY 2023

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    Attorneys at Sheppard Mullin look beyond the statistics in the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s recent annual report on bid protests, sharing their insights about nine categories of sustained protests, gained from reading every fiscal year 2023 decision in which the protester had a positive result.

  • Navigating Discovery Of Generative AI Information

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    As generative artificial intelligence tools become increasingly ubiquitous, companies must make sure to preserve generative AI data when there is reasonable expectation of litigation, and to include transcripts in litigation hold notices, as they may be relevant to discovery requests, say Nick Peterson and Corey Hauser at Wiley.

  • Finding Focus: Strategies For Attorneys With ADHD

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    Given the prevalence of ADHD among attorneys, it is imperative that the legal community gain a better understanding of how ADHD affects well-being, and that resources and strategies exist for attorneys with this disability to manage their symptoms and achieve success, say Casey Dixon at Dixon Life Coaching and Krista Larson at Stinson.

  • Biden Climate Push Expands With Contractor GHG Focus

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    President Joe Biden's recent announcement that federal agencies will consider contractors' greenhouse gas emissions when making procurement decisions demonstrates his administration's continued interest in using government contracting as a vehicle for reducing climate-related impacts — a theme first established in the early months of his term, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.

  • Key Shifts In EU, UK Emissions Credits: Challenges For Cos.

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    An upcoming deadline to apply for free carbon dioxide emissions allowances in the European Union, and a reduction in the supply of similar allowances in the U.K., are likely to increase competition for allowances, and cause production, supply chain and contract issues for companies, say attorneys at Orrick.

  • How Shareholder Activists Are Targeting Insurers

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    As shareholder activists take a closer look at the insurance industry, they are pushing insurers to take value-enhancing and climate-related measures — but insurers can prepare by anticipating activist concerns, maintaining robust shareholder engagement, and considering changes in response to the universal proxy rules, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • House Bill Could Help Resolve 'Waters Of US' Questions

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    Legislation recently introduced in the U.S. House that would restore Clean Water Act protection to areas excluded from it by the U.S. Supreme Court's Sackett v. EPA decision faces an uphill battle, but could help settle the endless debates over the definition of "waters of the United States," says Richard Leland at Akerman.

  • Calif. Climate Disclosure Laws: Next Steps For Companies

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    A trio of new climate disclosure laws in California will impose far-reaching corporate reporting requirements — so companies doing business in the state must immediately begin working to substantiate their climate claims and update marketing materials, and consider getting involved in rulemaking that will shape the legislation's impact, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Working With Emergency Services: Tips For Frontline Attys

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    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.

  • California's Offshore Turbine Plans Face Stiff Headwinds

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    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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