Energy

  • March 19, 2024

    Think Tanks Say Wind Turbine Project Would Harm Whales

    A group of conservative think tanks, including those with a history of opposing government climate change initiatives, want a D.C. federal judge to block a wind turbine project off the shore of Virginia, saying federal agencies failed to properly analyze and take steps to prevent the project's likely harm to endangered North Atlantic right whales.

  • March 19, 2024

    Mining Co. Faces Investor Suit After Turkey Landslide Losses

    Colorado-based SSR Mining Inc. has been hit with a proposed class action from an investor alleging the company understated the likelihood of a February landslide at its Turkish mine that left nine miners missing and led to the country's government to revoke some of the company's environmental licenses.

  • March 19, 2024

    SEC Gambles Climate Rule Fate On Circuit Court Lottery

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday asked the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation to consolidate legal challenges to its climate disclosure regulations before a single federal circuit court, leaving the fate of the hotly debated rules in the hands of a randomly selected appellate panel.

  • March 19, 2024

    Biden Administration Updates EV Fuel Economy Estimates

    Federal energy regulators on Tuesday issued changes to the outdated way they calculate the fuel economy equivalent estimates for electric vehicles, a move conservation groups cheered as a way to make automakers improve overall vehicle fleet efficiency.

  • March 19, 2024

    4th Circ. Judges Vexed By Disputes In Inmates' Wage Suit

    The Fourth Circuit appeared poised Tuesday to revive claims by Maryland inmates seeking minimum wage for doing county recycling work, with judges indicating that the case is still plagued by unknowns.

  • March 19, 2024

    Leech Tishman Tells 6th Circ. Time Ran Out On Fraud Suit

    A former Leech Tishman attorney was not party to a tolling agreement between his law firm and investors caught in a Ponzi scheme he allegedly should have warned them away from, so the firm should escape vicarious liability once the time limit expired for the investors to sue him, counsel for the firm told the Sixth Circuit Tuesday.

  • March 19, 2024

    EV Charging Biz Pitches $400K Ch. 11 Staff Retention Plan

    Charge Enterprises Inc., a company that builds electric vehicle charging stations and other infrastructure, has urged a Delaware bankruptcy judge to let it offer about $400,000 in bonuses to keep a dozen employees the firm deemed critical during its Chapter 11 case.

  • March 19, 2024

    States Converge On Texas' Challenge To EPA Methane Rule

    A California-led coalition of Democratic attorneys general wants to defend new federal limits on oil and gas industry methane emissions challenged by Texas, Oklahoma and other conservative states, with supporters of the new rules claiming a sovereign interest in protecting their citizens from harmful greenhouse gas pollution.

  • March 19, 2024

    Nippon Steel Tries To Ease Worries Over $14.9B US Steel Deal

    Nippon Steel Corp. pledged to move its North American headquarters to Pennsylvania in an attempt to assure the public that its proposed $14.9 billion acquisition of Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel will ultimately be good for the domestic steel industry.

  • March 19, 2024

    Faegre Drinker Adds Ex-DLA Piper Commodities Pro In Dallas

    Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP has strengthened its finance and restructuring practice in Dallas with partner Deanna Reitman, an experienced commodities lawyer who previously worked at DLA Piper.

  • March 18, 2024

    GOP Rep. Calls For Crackdown On EV Threats From China

    Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., a member of the House select committee on China's Communist Party and a U.S. Senate candidate, has asked the Commerce Department to investigate the imports of electronic vehicles and their components and the possible security threats to the United States from electronics from China.

  • March 18, 2024

    Feds Try To Shake Off Youths' Constitutional Climate Suit

    The government has asked a California federal judge to dismiss a group of children's lawsuit alleging the Constitution guarantees "a life-sustaining climate system" and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency allows unsafe levels of climate pollution.

  • March 18, 2024

    Feds Call $45B Nuclear Deal Appeal Moot After New Award

    The federal government pressed the Federal Circuit to dismiss a contractor's appeal over registration issues with a $45 billion nuclear waste cleanup contract, arguing Monday the appeal was moot following the U.S. Department of Energy's reissuance of the deal.

  • March 18, 2024

    Energy Co. Exec Cops To $5.5M Commodity Kickback Scheme

    A former president of a Texas energy company has pled guilty to fraudulently trading natural gas futures contracts and receiving $5.5 million in illegal kickbacks for the associated trades, the U.S. Department of Justice has said.

  • March 18, 2024

    Ex-SF Utilities Head Gets 4 Years For Bribery Conviction

    A California federal judge sentenced the former head of San Francisco's Public Utilities Commission on Monday to four years in prison for his multicount bribery conviction, saying he deserves time in custody for betraying the public trust and making a "mockery" of public office.

  • March 18, 2024

    Colo. Wildfire Plaintiffs Say Xcel Trial Plan Would Sow 'Chaos'

    Nearly 4,000 Colorado property owners suing Xcel Energy over a 2021 wildfire have argued that the utility's proposal to try all of their liability claims together would create a "chaotic and expensive mess" and potentially result in "serial juries" awarding different damages later on.

  • March 18, 2024

    SunZia Argues Suit Over Power Line Project Filed Far Too Late

    The developer of the proposed SunZia Southwest Transmission Project is asking an Arizona federal court to dismiss claims that the U.S. Department of the Interior failed to take a proper look at historic properties and cultural resources that the 550-mile power line might affect, arguing that the allegations are time-barred.

  • March 18, 2024

    Electric Battery Maker Says Mich. Officials Impeding $2B Plant

    Gotion Inc. accused a Michigan township of going back on its promise to help the electric vehicle battery manufacturer get governmental approvals to build a components plant in which it plans to invest over $2 billion.

  • March 18, 2024

    Latham-Led Talos Sells Carbon Capture Co. In $148M Deal

    Talos Energy, represented by Latham & Watkins LLP, announced Monday it sold its entire carbon capture and sequestration business to a U.S.-based subsidiary of French multinational TotalEnergies for $148 million, citing plans to use the proceeds for loan repayment and general corporate purposes.

  • March 18, 2024

    Home Solar Co.'s Ex-CEO Wants Out Of Faulty-Panel Suit

    The CEO of a bankrupt solar company asked a Michigan federal judge on Monday to toss a lawsuit from a couple who purchased a solar system they claim was defective, saying having a "distinctive leadership style" does not make him an alter ego for the company.

  • March 18, 2024

    Can EPA Shut Down State Air Plans? The Battle Isn't Over

    The D.C. Circuit reversed some U.S. Environmental Protection Agency vetoes of state air quality plans that gave power plants and other facilities a break when they exceed air emissions limits when they're starting up, shutting down or malfunctioning, but the court's decision wasn't a complete loss for the EPA and opened avenues for new litigation.

  • March 18, 2024

    NextEra Moves For Victory In Texas Power Grid Law Row

    NextEra units want a Texas federal court to invalidate a state law reserving new power line development for incumbent transmission companies after the Lone Star State failed in its bid to overturn a Fifth Circuit opinion finding the measure unconstitutional.

  • March 18, 2024

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    Multimillion-dollar e-cigarette settlements, $4 billion in stock buybacks and a $6.1 million appraisal tweak were among the big-dollar items logged in the Delaware Court of Chancery's ledger last week. Also on the docket: a Panama port project, a news outlet's defamation case, drone disputes and a flood of mail from Tesla shareholders. In case you missed it, here's all the latest from the Chancery Court.

  • March 18, 2024

    4th Circ. Preview: Airport Mishap, Inmate Pay Launch March

    The Fourth Circuit's spring session will task the court with refereeing a power struggle between Virginia regulators and the authority that runs Washington, D.C.'s airports — stemming from a workplace amputation — and delving into the "honest belief" doctrine's role in a Family Medical Leave Act case.

  • March 18, 2024

    Energy Dept. Says Alaska LNG Review Passes Legal Muster

    The U.S. Department of Energy on Friday defended its reapproval of a $43 billion liquefied natural gas project in Alaska, telling the D.C. Circuit that its additional environmental review sufficiently considered the climate change impacts of the controversial project.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    ESG Around The World: Brazil

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    Environmental, social and governance issues have increasingly translated into new legislation in Brazil since 2020, and in the wake of these recently enacted regulations, we are likely to see a growing number of legal disputes in the largest South American country related to ESG issues such as greenwashing if companies are not prepared to adequately adapt and comply, say attorneys at Mattos Filho.

  • Vagueness In Calif. Climate Law Makes Compliance Tricky

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    California's recently enacted Voluntary Carbon Market Disclosures Act requires companies making claims of carbon neutrality, or significant greenhouse gas emissions reductions, to disclose information supporting those claims — but vague and conflicting language in the statute poses multiple problems for businesses, say John Rousakis and Chris Bowman at O'Melveny.

  • Series

    Competing In Dressage Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My lifelong participation in the sport of dressage — often called ballet on horses — has proven that several skills developed through training and competition are transferable to legal work, especially the ability to harness focus, persistence and versatility when negotiating a deal, says Stephanie Coco at V&E.

  • Harmonizing Agricultural And Clean Energy Goals

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    Congress' extension of the Farm Bill offers a chance to more thoroughly consider innovation and investments that could transform the competition between farmers and solar developers into synergistic agrivoltaic systems, which use land for both agriculture and solar energy generation, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

  • CFTC Moves May Boost Interest In Voluntary Carbon Markets

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    As companies try to reduce their net greenhouse gas emissions, many have been cautious about embracing voluntary carbon credit markets — but recent moves by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission to regulate this sector may address some of its well-known challenges, say Deborah North and Laura Daugherty at Cleary.

  • 3 Strategies For Aggressive Judgment Enforcement

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    As illustrated by the many creditors of Citgo Petroleum Corp. who may walk away empty-handed — despite the company's court-ordered sale — it is important to start investigating counterparty assets and planning for enforcement even before obtaining a judgment, says Brian Asher at Asher Research.

  • Musk Pay Package Ruling Offers Detailed Lesson On Del. Law

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    Anat Alon-Beck and John Livingstone at Case Western Reserve University discuss the specifics that led Delaware's chancellor to rescind Elon Musk's $55.8 billion Tesla pay package on Jan. 30, how the state’s entire fairness doctrine played into the ruling, and its bigger-picture impact on the executive compensation landscape.

  • Key Maritime Law Issues In 2024: Election-Year Unknowns

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    In the final installment of this three-part article reviewing the top challenges for the maritime industry this year, Sean Pribyl at Holland & Knight examines how the uncertainty surrounding the forthcoming U.S. election may affect the maritime sector — especially companies involved in offshore wind and deep-sea mining.

  • The Legal Industry Needs A Cybersecurity Paradigm Shift

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    As law firms face ever-increasing risks of cyberattacks and ransomware incidents, the legal industry must implement robust cybersecurity measures and privacy-centric practices to preserve attorney-client privilege, safeguard client trust and uphold the profession’s integrity, says Ryan Paterson at Unplugged.

  • Key Maritime Law Issues In 2024: Environmental Challenges

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    In the second installment of this three-part article examining key concerns for the maritime sector this year, Sean Pribyl at Holland & Knight considers how the industry will be affected by environmental concerns — including the growing push for decarbonization, and regulatory scrutiny around greenwashing and ESG issues.

  • 5 Reasons Associates Shouldn't Take A Job Just For Money

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    As a number of BigLaw firms increase salary scales for early-career attorneys, law students and lateral associates considering new job offers should weigh several key factors that may matter more than financial compensation, say Albert Tawil at Lateral Hub and Ruvin Levavi at Power Forward.

  • Key Maritime Law Issues In 2024: Geopolitics And Sanctions

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    Major challenges are on the horizon for the U.S. maritime sector in 2024, including geopolitical tensions in the Red Sea and ever-evolving sanctions targeting Iran and Russia — which may lead to higher shipping costs and greater compliance burdens for stakeholders, says Sean Pribyl at Holland & Knight.

  • Series

    Playing Competitive Tennis Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My experience playing competitive tennis has highlighted why prioritizing exercise and stress relief, maintaining perspective under pressure, and supporting colleagues in pursuit of a common goal are all key aspects of championing a successful legal career, says Madhumita Datta at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Series

    The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Djerassi On Super Bowl 52

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    Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Ramy Djerassi discusses how Super Bowl 52, in which the Philadelphia Eagles prevailed over the New England Patriots, provides an apt metaphor for alternative dispute resolution processes in commercial business cases.

  • Takeaways From SEC's Aggressive Cybersecurity Moves

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's intensifying policy on cybersecurity and securities violations in the wake of a data breach — like its enforcement action against SolarWinds and its security officer — has emboldened shareholders to file related suits, creating a heightened threat to public companies, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

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