Energy
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November 13, 2018
Mom Of 'Frack Master' Sanctioned $10K Over Receiver Suit
The mother of self-described "frack master" Christopher Faulkner will pay a $10,000 sanction after misrepresenting a state lawsuit she filed against a court-appointed receiver that already resulted in a contempt finding against her, a Texas federal judge said Tuesday.
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November 13, 2018
US To Pay Contractor $1.1M For SC Nuclear Facility Work
The National Nuclear Security Administration must pay at least $1.1 million in withheld cash to the company tasked with designing, building and running a now-canceled nuclear fuel facility in South Carolina, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims said Friday.
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November 13, 2018
Kazakh Uranium Miner Prices Expected $451M IPO
Uranium giant Kazatomprom completed an initial public offering Tuesday projected to raise $451.3 million from London and Astana, Kazakhstan, investors despite pricing at the bottom of its range, enabling sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna to trim its stake in the Kazakh behemoth.
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November 13, 2018
Deals Rumor Mill: WeWork, Aramco, BMW
WeWork nabbed $3 billion from SoftBank, Saudi Aramco still plans to go public, and BMW is talking to banks while it weighs selling off its credit card unit.
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November 13, 2018
EPA Rolls Out 'Cleaner Trucks' Initiative
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler on Tuesday announced a future rulemaking that will “further decrease” nitrogen oxide emissions for certain heavy-duty trucks and engines while promising to also ensure regulatory certainty for industry.
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November 13, 2018
Chevron Defeats Bid To Revive ERISA Suit At 9th Circ.
The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday refused to revive a proposed Employee Retirement Income Security Act class action accusing Chevron Corp. and an investment committee of mismanaging workers’ retirement funds, holding that the plan participants leading the suit didn’t sufficiently support their allegations.
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November 13, 2018
EPA Regional Head Indicted On Ala. Ethics Charges
An Alabama grand jury on Friday indicted the head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Southeastern regional office on ethics charges, including the use of his office for personal gain, just over a year after he was appointed.
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November 13, 2018
Feds Seek End To Tribes' Suit Over Copper Mine Approval
The federal government has asked an Arizona federal judge for a quick win in a suit brought by three Native American tribes challenging the U.S. Forest Service’s decision to greenlight a planned copper mine, saying the agency’s regulations don’t let it block mining even if it could damage tribal cultural sites.
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November 13, 2018
High Court Won't Hear $17.3M Fee Dispute In Gas Royalty Row
The Supreme Court declined Tuesday to take up a challenge to a Tenth Circuit panel's decision that said an incorrect method of calculating the $17.3 million attorneys' fees award for work on a $52 million settlement over gas well royalty payments meant the award should be set aside.
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November 13, 2018
FERC Using Outdated Rate For Pipeline Fees, DC Circ. Hears
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission used outmoded data to compute the initial shipping rates for three major gas pipelines in the works, opening the door to overcharges down the road, two state utility regulators told the D.C. Circuit on Tuesday.
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November 13, 2018
CIT Remands Part Of Ruling On Chinese Solar Cell Sales
The U.S. Department of Commerce erred by including certain sales made by a Chinese solar cell producer as sales the company made in the United States, the U.S. Court of International Trade determined on Tuesday.
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November 13, 2018
Energy Co.'s Suit Over $50M Moldova Award Taken Off Hold
A D.C. federal judge on Tuesday unpaused a Ukrainian energy company's lawsuit seeking to confirm an approximately $50 million arbitral award against the Republic of Moldova, concluding that the award is enforceable despite related ongoing annulment proceedings in France.
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November 13, 2018
Romania Sees Energy Co.'s $450M Contract Claim Nixed
An international tribunal has rejected Swiss energy company Alpiq AG's $450 million claim against Romania, ruling that the country did not violate its international obligations by canceling long-term energy delivery contracts involving Alpiq subsidiaries and the state-owned power producer Hidroelectrica SA.
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November 13, 2018
In Break From Past, PTAB Denies 'Same-Party' Joinder
Breaking with previous decisions, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board has denied a company’s bid to join new issues to a challenge it filed against an Oren Technologies LLC patent, saying the America Invents Act does not allow a petitioner to raise additional issues to be joined in an inter partes review it already filed.
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November 13, 2018
Hess Agrees To Pay $8.72M For Spill That Killed Pelicans
Hess Corp. agreed to pay the federal government and Louisiana a total of $8.72 million to fund restoration efforts stemming from the company’s 2005 oil spill that occurred about 13 miles off the state’s coast and allegedly killed "well over" a thousand juvenile pelicans.
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November 13, 2018
Japan Cries Foul On S. Korean Shipbuilding Support At WTO
The Japanese government has filed a new World Trade Organization case against South Korea, asserting that Seoul has been illegally propping up its shipbuilding sector with subsidies and other financial support, according to a WTO document published Tuesday.
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November 13, 2018
3 Firms Guide PE Firm’s $655M Sale Of Sonneborn
One Equity Partners has agreed to sell specialty hydrocarbon chemicals business Sonneborn to Dallas-based oil refining company HollyFrontier Corp. for $655 million, the companies said Tuesday, in a deal piloted by Baker McKenzie, Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP and Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz.
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November 9, 2018
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
The last week has seen a pair of disputes involving asset manager CGrowth, another suit from private equity-linked firms taking on parties linked to Thailand's KPN Group and Kodak bring a competition case against Goldman, Glencore and others the film giant has accused of manipulating aluminum prices in the U.S. Here, Law360 looks at those and other new claims in the U.K.
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November 9, 2018
Oil Group Says 5th Circ. Ruling May Prompt Forum Shopping
A Fifth Circuit decision that found Devon Energy Production Co. LP’s alleged breach of implied duty to market could support class certification would upend the legal landscape in oil and gas law, the Texas Oil and Gas Association has said in an amicus brief filed in Devon's en banc bid.
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November 9, 2018
What To Know After Court Dumps Keystone XL Approval
A Montana federal judge on Thursday vacated the presidential, cross-border permit for the Keystone XL pipeline and halted work on the controversial project until the U.S. Department of State crafts an environmental review that complies with federal law, casting fresh doubt on the project's future. Here are four key takeaways from the court's ruling.
Expert Analysis
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It’s Time For Law Firms To Start Talking About Gen Z
Since the oldest members of Generation Z aren’t even finished with law school yet, law firm management is in a unique position to prepare for their entrance into the legal workforce, says Eliza Stoker of Major Lindsey & Africa.
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Lessons From FERC Staff Reversal In Footprint Power
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's enforcement staff recently recommended that FERC drop a case against Footprint Power LLC. This may be an effort to address criticism that the enforcement process has become a guaranteed win for the commission, say Todd Mullins and Christopher McEachran of McGuireWoods LLP.
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What To Expect From New Democratic Investigation Efforts
The new Democratic House majority is expected to direct much of its attention to executive branch oversight and accountability. Companies and their legal counsel should be prepared for a dramatically changed collateral environment as investigations cover a wide range of topics, say attorneys at WilmerHale.
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Q&A
Back To School: Yale's Linda Greenhouse Talks Journalism
In this series featuring law school luminaries, Yale Law School lecturer and Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Linda Greenhouse discusses her coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court, the conservatives' long game and trends in journalism.
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Opinion
An Opportunity To Slow The Rise Of Securities Class Actions
A major securities fraud case now before the U.S. Supreme Court — Lorenzo v. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission — marks the first of many opportunities the court will have to roll back expansive interpretations of securities law and deter plaintiffs from filing low-quality complaints, say attorneys with Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo PC.
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Opinion
Celebrate Veterans By Improving Their Access To Justice
Attorneys should think beyond the Veterans Day parades and use their time and talents to help the many veterans facing urgent legal issues, says Linda Klein of Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC.
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Iran Sanctions Reimposed: 5 Key Questions
With this week's reimposition of the final tranche of U.S. sanctions against Iran, foreign subsidiaries of U.S. companies must ensure they have concluded all Iran-related business. The addition of more Iranian individuals and entities to the specially designated nationals list means additional compliance risks, say attorneys with Kirkland & Ellis LLP.
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Energy Cos. Engage With A New Forum For Human Rights
National contact points are hearing more human rights, labor and environmental complaints related to energy companies, bringing these grievances to public attention and sharing findings with potential litigants, say attorneys with King & Spalding LLP and an adviser at the Danish Institute for Human Rights.
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Considering Blockchain In The Electricity Industry
Because blockchain could fundamentally change how electricity is supplied and consumed in the future, traditional utilities should consider ways to leverage this technology, while regulators must update practices that impede the use of blockchain in the industry, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hamilton LLP.
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Opinion
Time To Reclaim Wellness For All Lawyers
The decision last month by Baker McKenzie’s global chairman to step down due to exhaustion indicates that the legal profession needs to mount a broader wellness effort to address long hours, high stress, frequent travel and the daily demands of practice, says Leesa Klepper, director of Thrivewell Coaching.