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Native American
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February 15, 2024
Wash. Judge Says Tribes Can Seek River Pollution Damages
A Washington federal judge denied a Teck Resources Ltd. unit's bid for summary judgment on natural resource damages claims that the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation and state of Washington lodged over decades of Upper Columbia River pollution from a smelter in Trail, British Columbia, setting up the matter for a possible trial.
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February 14, 2024
USDA Says $20M Will Help Tribes Access Climate Market
Federally recognized tribes and Alaska Native corporations and villages are getting a $20 million bump to broaden their access to emerging climate markets as a way to address ongoing climate change, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Wednesday.
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February 14, 2024
Energy Co. Says Tribal Court Being Used To Duck $12M Award
Merit Energy Operations is asking a federal district court to block two Wyoming tribes from using the tribal judicial system to vacate a $12.6 million arbitration award against them, saying the move is a blatant attempt to escape the ultimate result in the case.
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February 14, 2024
Feds, Power Line Developer Decry Tribes' Suit As 'Too Late'
The federal government and SunZia Transmission LLC, the developer of a 550-mile power line, urged an Arizona federal judge Tuesday to deny a request from tribes and conservations groups for a preliminary injunction halting the project's construction, saying they waited too long to make their challenge.
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February 14, 2024
Navajo Say Hopi Tribe Bid To Join Land Trust Suit Is Untimely
The Navajo Nation has said the Hopi Tribe's attempt to intervene in its lawsuit against the U.S. government over a land trust and casino road easement dispute is untimely, coming after nearly four years of litigation.
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February 14, 2024
Patterson Earnhart Names Equity Partners, Opens Wis. Office
Native American law firm Patterson Earnhart Real Bird & Wilson LLP has announced two new equity partners, one of whom will lead a new office in Wisconsin.
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February 13, 2024
Feds Want 'Free Pass' Out Of Climate Suit Trial, Youths Say
Twenty-one plaintiffs suing to force the U.S. government to curb fossil fuel use and cut carbon emissions told the Ninth Circuit on Monday that the government's latest attempt to pause their lawsuit amounts to its shunning procedural rules and asking for "a free pass out of trial" not available to other people.
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February 13, 2024
CMS Must Rethink $4M Training Contract Award, GAO Rules
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will have to reconsider a contract it awarded to a public relations firm after the U.S. Government Accountability Office sustained all four aspects of a competitor's protest over how their bids were evaluated.
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February 13, 2024
Fla. Casinos Ask Justices To Undo Seminole Gaming Compact
Two Florida casino operators are asking the Supreme Court to reverse a lower federal court's decision that said a compact allowing online sports betting off tribal lands between the Sunshine State and the Seminole Tribe is lawful, arguing that the outcome of the case could set a nationwide precedent as an end-run around state and federal limitations in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
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February 13, 2024
Tribes Seek Split Arguments In High Court Healthcare Dispute
Two Native American tribes are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to allow them to separately argue their positions in seeking to uphold rulings that ordered the federal government to reimburse them millions in administrative healthcare costs, adding that the issues presented in the case are at the core of their ability to perform a critical service on their reservation lands.
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February 13, 2024
Arizona Lawmakers Sue Feds Over Grand Canyon Monument
The top Republicans in the Arizona Legislature and the state treasurer are asking a federal court to overturn President Joe Biden's protection of nearly a million acres in northern Arizona, calling his creation of the Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni-Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument an "unlawful land grab."
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February 13, 2024
Rancher Accuses Biden Admin Of Abusing Antiquities Act
A sixth-generation Arizona rancher has slapped the Biden administration with a complaint in Arizona federal court, accusing the president of abusing the Antiquities Act to designate a million acres of land in the state as a national monument.
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February 12, 2024
Activists Ask Justices To Reverse Calif. Tribal Casino Approval
An anti-casino advocacy group has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Ninth Circuit decision that upholds the dismissal of its suit, claiming the federal government erred when finding that the Ione Band of Miwok Indians is eligible to open a casino in California.
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February 12, 2024
Utah Defends Standing In Monument Cases Before 10th Circ.
The state of Utah has doubled down in urging the Tenth Circuit to reverse a Utah federal judge's decision dismissing the state's challenge of the Biden administration's redesignation of large swaths of land as part of two national monuments, saying its case should have readily survived the motions to dismiss that led to its downfall.
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February 12, 2024
Judge Amends Camp Operator's $1M Surety Bond Order
A federal district judge has agreed to modify a Montana campground operator's $1 million surety bond stay order pending an appeal to the Ninth Circuit, saying the company's proposed substitution of its projected net income for 2024 raises questions about its reported principal income.
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February 12, 2024
Canadian High Court Affirms Native Child Welfare Act Lawful
The Supreme Court of Canada has determined that federal legislation giving Indigenous nations jurisdiction over their own child welfare services is constitutional, reversing a lower court's decision that partially invalidated the law after Quebec officials argued the Trudeau administration overstepped its legislative authority in approving it.
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February 09, 2024
9th Circ. Judge Doubts Continued Role In Tribal Fishing Fight
A Ninth Circuit judge on Friday questioned whether federal courts' 50-year stretch of close supervision of Washington tribal fishing rights was too long, in a case involving the Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians' dispute with several other tribes involving fishing territories in coastal waters.
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February 09, 2024
SunZia Line Developer To Argue Against DOI Injunction Bid
The developer of the proposed SunZia Southwest Transmission Project can intervene in litigation seeking to halt construction of its 550-mile powerline, a federal district court ruled, saying that disposing of the motion may impair the company's ability to protect its interests.
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February 09, 2024
Ore. Dam Can Be Reviewed In 5 Years, Judge Says
An Oregon federal district court judge handed down a five-year pause on a decades-old lawsuit over the Columbia River System dams' hydropower practices, saying a stay best serves the orderly course of justice in litigation that's rife with complex issues.
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February 09, 2024
Feds Ask 9th Circ. To Pull Plug On Ore. Kids' Climate Case
The federal government is urging the Ninth Circuit to overturn an Oregon federal judge's decision to greenlight a trial for a lawsuit filed by young plaintiffs who say current energy policies harm their future by exacerbating climate change.
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February 09, 2024
Off The Bench: NCAA NIL Rule Lives; Dartmouth Players Win
In this week's Off The Bench, a Tennessee judge sends mixed signals to the NCAA in the fight over its NIL recruiting ban, Dartmouth's basketball players tally a win for college athletes' unionization efforts, and DraftKings tries to stop rival Fanatics from benefiting from a former executive who switched sides. If you were on the sidelines over the past week, Law360 is here to clue you in on the biggest sports and betting stories that had our readers talking.
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February 08, 2024
Wash. Judge Says Tribes Can't Seek Cultural Damages
A Washington federal judge said the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation can't seek millions of dollars of cultural resource damages over discharges from a Teck Resources Ltd. unit's smelter in Trail, British Columbia, holding that such damages can't be recovered under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act.
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February 08, 2024
Ariz. County Has Widespread Voting Problems, Suit Alleges
A civil rights nonprofit and an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation are asking an Arizona state court for a slew of injunctions and declaratory judgments against officials in Maricopa County, arguing that the municipality has widespread problems with absentee ballots, chain-of-custody issues and voting computer software.
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February 08, 2024
New Eagle Rule Aims To Expand Clean Power, Protect Birds
Federal wildlife regulators on Thursday put out streamlined permitting for wind farms, power lines and other projects that unintentionally kill, injure and disturb bald and golden eagles, a move welcomed by clean power and conservation groups.
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February 08, 2024
Wash. Tribes Sue Chevron, Others Over Climate Impacts
A pair of western Washington tribes claim ExxonMobil, BP, Shell, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Phillips 66 have lied to consumers about the harmful climate impacts of their fossil fuel products, imperiling their lands and resources and citizens' health, according to complaints removed to federal court by Chevron.
Expert Analysis
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How Attys Can Avoid Exposing Their Firms To Cyberattacks
Attorneys are the weakest link in their firms' cyberdefenses because hackers often exploit the gap between individuals’ work and personal cybersecurity habits, but there are some steps lawyers can take to reduce the risks they create for their employers, say Mark Hurley and Carmine Cicalese at Digital Privacy & Protection.
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What Purdue Ch. 11 Means For Future Of Third-Party Releases
The Second Circuit’s highly anticipated ruling approving Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy plan establishes stringent factors that lower courts must consider before approving nonconsensual third-party releases, but the circuit split on the matter means the issue is far from resolved, say Gregory Hesse and Kollin Bender at Hunton.
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Virginia 'Rocket Docket' Slowdown Is Likely A Blip
After being the fastest or second-fastest federal civil trial court for 14 straight years, the Eastern District of Virginia has slid to 18th place, but the rocket docket’s statistical tumble doesn't mean the district no longer maintains a speedy civil docket, says Robert Tata at Hunton.
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NEPA Reforms May Aid Project Speed, But Red Tape Remains
The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 included amendments to the National Environmental Policy Act that are designed to streamline the federal environmental review process for infrastructure projects, but coordination with agencies and early stakeholder engagement are still likelier to lead to successful outcomes than time and page limits, say Jena Maclean and Stephanie Regenold at Perkins Coie.
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Takeaways From Tribes' High Court Adoption Case Victory
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Haaland v. Brackeen, upholding the Indian Child Welfare Act, leaves the door open for individuals to bring equal protection claims, but generally bodes well for future tribal issues that reach the court, says Sarah Murray at Brownstein Hyatt.
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5 Management Tips To Keep Law Firm Merger Talks Moving
Many law firm mergers that make solid business sense still fall apart due to the costs and frustrations of inefficient negotiations, but firm managers can increase the chance of success by effectively planning and executing merger discussions, say Lisa Smith and Kristin Stark at Fairfax Associates.
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Opinion
Okla. Bill Represents Restorative Justice For Tribal Students
Oklahoma law will soon confer Native American students with the right to wear traditional regalia during graduation ceremonies, removing uncertainty for Native American students and providing long-overdue restorative justice in the relationship between tribes and schools, says Bree Black Horse at Kilpatrick.
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Rethinking In-Office Attendance For Associate Retention
The hybrid office attendance model doesn't work for all employees, but it does for many — and balancing these two groups is important for associate retention and maintaining a BigLaw firm culture that supports all attorneys, says Summer Eberhard at Major Lindsey.
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Bid Protest Spotlight: Timeliness, Discovery, Registration Gap
In this month's bid protest roundup, Michaela Thornton at MoFo examines recent decisions from the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the U.S. Government Accountability Office that consider the timeliness of a protest filing, discovery beyond the administrative record and a lapse in System for Award Management registration.
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Sackett's US Waters Redefinition Is A Boon For Developers
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent landmark ruling in Sackett v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency should reduce real estate project delays, development costs and potential legal exposures — but developers must remain mindful of how new federal and state regulations governing wetlands could affect their plans, say attorneys at Morris Manning.
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Opinion
Despite Its Plan Objections, UST Also Won In Purdue Ch. 11
The Second Circuit’s recent decision approving Purdue Pharma’s reorganization plan is a win even for the dissenting Office of the U.S. Trustee because the decision sets extremely stringent guidelines for future use of nonconsensual third-party releases, say Edward Neiger and Jennifer Christian at Ask.
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Murdaugh Trials Offer Law Firms Fraud Prevention Reminders
As the fraud case against Alex Murdaugh continues to play out, the evidence and narrative presented at his murder trial earlier this year may provide lessons for law firms on implementing robust internal controls that can detect and prevent similar kinds of fraud, say Travis Casner and Helga Zauner at Weaver and Tidwell.
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Firm Tips For Helping New Lawyers Succeed Post-Pandemic
Ten steps can help firms significantly enhance the experience of attorneys who started their careers in the coronavirus pandemic era, including facilitating opportunities for cross-firm connection, which can ultimately help build momentum for business development, says Lana Manganiello at Equinox Strategy Partners.
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Tackling Judge-Shopping Concerns While Honoring Localism
As the debate continues over judge-shopping and case assignments in federal court, policymakers should look to a hybrid model that preserves the benefits of localism for those cases that warrant it, while preventing the appearance of judge-shopping for cases of a more national or widespread character, says Joshua Sohn at the U.S. Department of Justice.
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EPA Nod For La. Program Bodes Well For Carbon Storage
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recent announcement that it plans to grant Louisiana control over the permitting of carbon dioxide geologic sequestration wells is a welcome development for other states seeking similar authority — and developers seeking carbon storage well permits, say attorneys at Sidley.