Jury Awards $28M In Latest PacifiCorp Wildfire Trial

By Cara Salvatore

Oregonians, including a photographer and a charter boat operator, were awarded $27.97 million in noneconomic damages in the latest trial against utility PacifiCorp over wildfire damage, much less than the $100 million requested for the 10 plaintiffs.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Trump Wind Farm Pause Has Stalled Projects, Judge Hears

By Keith Goldberg

A coalition of blue states and industry advocates told a federal judge on Tuesday that the recent mothballing of a New Jersey offshore wind project exemplifies the damage being inflicted by the Trump administration's unlawful decision to pause wind farm permitting.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Power Co. Asks Justices To Settle Split In Tribal Tax Dispute

By Sanjay Talwani

Arizona courts were wrong to rule that an energy company located on tribal land is subject to property taxes, the company told the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, urging it to address an "intolerable" state-federal split.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

UK Refiner Wins A Round In $200M EU Energy Tax Dispute

By Caroline Simson

An international tribunal has ruled that a British oil refiner's claim challenging a €175 million ($200 million) windfall tax in Europe will proceed without bifurcation, concluding that jurisdictional objections lodged by Germany, Denmark and the European Union should be weighed concurrently with the merits.

Decision attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Yukos Says $5B Russia Award Suit Must Proceed

By Joyce Hanson

Yukos Oil Co.'s financing arm has told a D.C. federal court that a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision rejecting the Ninth Circuit's outlier interpretation of a jurisdictional question moots Russia's request that the court pause enforcement of a $5 billion arbitral award against the country.

Notice attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Mazda Driver Says Emissions Claims Distinct From Calif. Case

By Abigail Harrison

A North Carolina federal judge didn't fairly consider how a Mazda driver's claims of excessive emissions in the state were distinct from a California matter that ended in a settlement he didn't opt out of, the driver argued in a motion to revive the case.

Brief attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Green Energy Battery Co. Files Ch. 11 With Sale, Spinoff Plans

By Rick Archer

A company that manufactures batteries for green energy projects sought Chapter 11 protection in New Jersey bankruptcy court Tuesday, saying it is planning a spinoff and a sale to deal with its $325 million in debt, and citing an "untenable" liquidity situation and claims asserted by unhappy customers.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Reed Smith Int'l Arbitration Pro Jumps To Bracewell In NYC

By Emily Sawicki

Bracewell LLP has added an international arbitration practitioner with more than two decades of BigLaw experience across a range of industries and locations, including most recently as a partner at Reed Smith LLP, to its New York roster, as the firm looks to grow the practice area.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Calif. Bar Exam Fiasco Shows Why Attys Must Disclose AI Use

The recent revelation that a handful of questions from the controversial California bar exam administered in February were drafted using generative artificial intelligence demonstrates the continued importance of disclosure for attorneys who use AI tools, say attorneys at Troutman.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

ABA 'Surprised And Disappointed' By DOJ Shunning

By Courtney Bublé

The American Bar Association on Tuesday defended its long-standing process for reviewing judicial nominees and said Attorney General Pam Bondi was wrong to call the group an "activist organization."

Letter attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

Feds Reboot FCPA Agenda With Narrower Enforcement Focus

By Sarah Jarvis

The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday released new and tightened guidelines for enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act after a four-month pause on such prosecutions, centering prospective investigations on situations that affect U.S. competitiveness and national security as well as transnational cartels.

Memorandum attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Top CFPB Enforcer Quits Over 'Devastating' Agency Pullback

By Jon Hill

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's top enforcement official resigned Tuesday, saying she can no longer effectively do her job under leadership that "has no intention to enforce the law in any meaningful way."

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Judiciary Panel Advances New Rules On Amici, AI, Subpoenas

By Jeff Overley

The federal judiciary's top policy panel Tuesday propelled revamped rules regarding numerous hot legal topics, including artificial intelligence, "dark money" groups bankrolling amicus briefs and the subpoena powers of courts and defense counsel.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

NJ Rep. LaMonica McIver Indicted Over ICE Facility Incident

By Hailey Konnath

U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver has been charged with forcibly impeding and interfering with federal officers during her inspection of a Newark, New Jersey, immigration detention facility last month, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Wis. Judge Can't Wield Immunity For Obstructing ICE, DOJ Says

By Lynn LaRowe

The U.S. Department of Justice has urged a Wisconsin federal judge to reject a state court judge's argument that judicial immunity blocks her prosecution for allegedly obstructing an ICE arrest at a Milwaukee courthouse, saying that while judges may be immune from civil liability for official acts, they are not shielded from prosecution for supposedly criminal conduct.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

State Chief Justices Blast Plans To Cut Legal Services Corp.

By Hailey Konnath

A coalition of 37 state Supreme Court chief justices have asked federal lawmakers to reject President Donald Trump's plans to eliminate the Legal Services Corp., arguing that the "justice system is hobbled when citizens are deprived of legal counsel."

Letter attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Mass. Court-Appointed Attys Hit 'Boiling Point' Over Low Pay

By Julie Manganis

Hundreds of private attorneys in Massachusetts who are paid by the state to represent indigent defendants and others have stopped accepting new court-appointed cases over complaints about low pay, putting the system on what one veteran advocate called "the verge of imploding."

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

House Conservatives Push Senate To 'Rein In' Judges

By Courtney Bublé

House conservatives are imploring their Senate counterparts to do more to "rein in" federal judges with the budget reconciliation package.

Memorandum attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

SEC's Investment Management Chief Greiner To Leave Agency

By Tom Zanki

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission veteran Natasha Vij Greiner is stepping down as the director of the agency's investment management division, ending a nearly 24-year career serving the SEC in multiple roles, regulators announced Tuesday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

Key Insights On Looming Fair Use Rulings In AI Cases

By Ivan Moreno

Two California federal judges have indicated they are inclined to find that using copyrighted material to train artificial intelligence systems is transformative, which usually means that copying a work is fair, but that may not let Meta Platforms and Anthropic off the hook in separate lawsuits.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Katryna Perera and Jeff Montgomery

Delaware's Court of Chancery showed new resistance to suits alleging corporate weaponizing of advance notice bylaws, and a new report highlighted the high fees that attorneys are cashing in on in Delaware courts compared to the federal court system. Several new suits were also filed concerning allegedly under- or overvalued sales and acquisitions being pushed through.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »