Environmental

  • March 21, 2024

    8th Circ. Wins SEC Climate Rule Litigation Lottery

    The wave of cases against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently finalized climate disclosure rules will be consolidated and proceed in the Eighth Circuit, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation ordered Thursday, after the agency requested a random draw.

  • March 20, 2024

    Justices Ask How Texas, NM Can Cut Water Deal Without Feds

    U.S. Supreme Court justices on Wednesday questioned whether Texas, New Mexico and Colorado can settle their dispute over Rio Grande water rights without the approval of the federal government — which is arguing the deal could leave the water systems in those states high and dry.

  • March 20, 2024

    Gas Buyers Want Judge Recused From Shale Cartel Suits

    A would-be class of gasoline buyers pursuing antitrust claims against a string of shale oil producers told a Nevada federal judge on Tuesday that her admitted ownership of stock in Exxon Mobil Corp. required her to recuse herself from presiding over the litigation.

  • March 20, 2024

    SEC Proxy Roundup: Verizon, UPS Escape ESG Proposals

    Verizon and UPS may exclude from their proxy statements shareholder proposals on social policy and climate change matters, according to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission staff, who also denied various other requests from corporations looking to escape separate social and politics-related proposals.

  • March 20, 2024

    EU Insurers Warn Regulators Of Gaps In Greenwashing Rules

    European insurers have urged the bloc's insurance and pensions watchdog to be consistent and clear with its greenwashing rules for investment products, pointing to discrepancies between jurisdictions and inconsistencies with other sustainability frameworks.

  • March 20, 2024

    How The Supreme Court Could Narrow Chevron

    After hours of oral argument in a closely watched administrative law case, it appeared that some U.S. Supreme Court justices could be open to limiting the opportunities for lower courts to defer to federal agencies' legal interpretations in disputes over rulemaking — and legal experts said there are a number of ways they could do it.

  • March 20, 2024

    EPA Tightens Auto Emissions Rules But Relaxes Timetable

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday finalized a rule that requires reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from cars, trucks and vans through 2032, although automakers, labor unions and dealers convinced the EPA to relax its timetable.

  • March 20, 2024

    Breaking Down Each State's Climate Priority Policies

    Forty-five states have now completed climate action plans outlining how they'll advance federal climate goals through policy and programs in coming years, with most focusing at least in part on real estate development as a way to reduce emissions.

  • March 20, 2024

    Feds Didn't Consider LNG Rule's Impact On Tribe, Court Told

    The Puyallup Tribe of Indians has fired back at the U.S. Department of Transportation's defense of a rule permitting bulk rail transport of liquefied natural gas, telling the D.C. Circuit the agency failed to engage in meaningful dialogue during the rule's development.

  • March 20, 2024

    Law360 Announces The Members Of Its 2024 Editorial Boards

    Law360 is pleased to announce the formation of its 2024 Editorial Advisory Boards.

  • March 20, 2024

    US Chamber's Litigation Funding Concerns Spur 2 State Laws

    Amid concerns from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce about third-party litigation funding, including from potentially hostile foreign entities, state legislatures in Indiana and West Virginia have recently passed bills imposing restrictions on the practice.

  • March 20, 2024

    DA Says Greenhouse Suit Interferes With Code Enforcement

    The San Bernardino County district attorney is asking a California federal judge to throw out a suit from a Native American-owned company aiming to block the DA from abating and removing equipment from greenhouses that was used in an illegal cannabis operation involving a prior owner.

  • March 19, 2024

    Feds, NY Residents Spar Over Congestion Pricing Battle

    Federal and New York transportation agencies have told a Manhattan federal judge that local residents waited too late to file lawsuits trying to block congestion pricing, but the plaintiffs countered that the agencies have admitted that they'll have to reevaluate the environmental harms the new tolls would have on communities.

  • March 19, 2024

    La. Green Groups Urge Petrochemical Plant Permit Probe

    A coalition of environmental groups urged Louisiana's Supreme Court to wade into their dispute with the state concerning permits that would allow a plastics manufacturer to construct a major petrochemical facility within the state's "Cancer Alley."

  • March 19, 2024

    Feds, Mich., City Escape Black Residents' $600M Pollution Case

    A Michigan federal judge has dismissed a $600 million lawsuit brought by Black residents of Kalamazoo claiming a local company, the city, the state and the federal government did nothing about polluted air in their neighborhood because of their race.

  • March 19, 2024

    Wash. Hydro Co. Says Dam Removal Plan Follows Court Order

    A Washington hydroelectric company insists it is not disobeying a court order to remove part of a temporary rock dam that harms migrating fish, telling a federal judge that a tribe's alternative is not structurally sound and cannot be permitted.

  • March 19, 2024

    Hydro Co. Asks FERC To Redo Tribe Opposition Permit Denial

    A Massachusetts company pursuing hydroelectric projects on Navajo Nation land is asking the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to revisit an order that denied preliminary permits because the nation opposed them, maintaining it has secured support from tribal entities to show otherwise — an assertion the nation's attorney general disputes.

  • March 19, 2024

    Texas' Border Buoy Argument 'Flummoxes' Austin Judge

    A Texas federal judge said Tuesday that he "can't imagine" Congress would agree with the state's position that a federal statute governing navigable waters doesn't authorize actions against Texas over its anti-migrant barrier, and suggested the case is likely headed for the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • 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

    Fishers Angle For Justices' Attention With New Monument Suit

    Two fishermen are challenging a 5,000-square-mile offshore national monument in a lawsuit that sets up a fight over the extent of presidential power under the Antiquities Act, an issue that has already drawn the attention of U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.

  • March 19, 2024

    Cancer Patient Fights Monsanto's Philadelphia Roundup Win

    A cancer patient alleging that he developed his illness after using the weed killer Roundup wants to overturn Bayer AG unit Monsanto's first win in Philadelphia's Roundup mass tort, arguing that the judge's erroneous evidentiary rulings caused him to lose the 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.

Expert Analysis

  • A Look Ahead For The Electric Vehicle Charging Industry

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    This will likely be an eventful year for the electric vehicle market as government efforts to accelerate their adoption inevitably clash with backlash from supporters of the petroleum industry, say Rue Phillips at SkillFusion and Enid Joffe at Green Paradigm Consulting.

  • A Post-Mortem Analysis Of Stroock's Demise

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    After the dissolution of 147-year-old firm Stroock late last year shook up the legal world, a post-mortem analysis of the data reveals a long list of warning signs preceding the firm’s collapse — and provides some insight into how other firms might avoid the same disastrous fate, says Craig Savitzky at Leopard Solutions.

  • Opinion

    Exxon Court Should Clarify Shareholder Proposal Exclusion

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    ExxonMobil last month took the unusual action of asking a Texas federal judge whether a proposal from climate activists seeking to limit oil and gas sales could be excluded from its 2024 proxy statement, and the court should use this opportunity to reevaluate SEC policy and set clear limits on when shareholder proposals can be included, says Stephen Bainbridge at UCLA School of Law.

  • Legislative And Litigation Trends In Environmental Advertising

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    Companies that tout their products' environmental benefits can significantly reduce the risk that they will face allegations of greenwashing by staying up to date on related Federal Trade Commission guidance, state requirements and litigation trends, say Raqiyyah Pippins and Kelsie Sicinski at Arnold & Porter.

  • Considering The Logical Extremes Of Your Legal Argument

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    Recent oral arguments in the federal election interference case against former President Donald Trump highlighted the age-old technique of extending an argument to its logical limit — a principle that is still important for attorneys to consider in preparing their cases, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Reducing The Risk Of PFAS False Advertising Class Actions

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    A wave of class actions continues to pummel products that allegedly contain per- or polyfluoroalkyl substances, with plaintiffs challenging advertising that they say misleads consumers by implying an absence of PFAS — but there are steps companies can take to minimize risk, say attorneys at Keller and Heckman.

  • 6th Circ. Ruling Breathes New Life Into Article III Traceability

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    The Sixth Circuit's recent decision in Hardwick v. 3M Co. to vacate a district court's certification of one of the largest class actions in American jurisprudence for lack of Article III standing has potentially broader implications for class action practice in the product liability sphere, particularly in medical monitoring cases involving far-fetched theories of causation, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • Storytelling Strategies To Defuse Courtroom Conspiracies

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    Misinformation continues to proliferate in all sectors of society, including in the courtroom, as jurors try to fill in the gaps of incomplete trial narratives — underscoring the need for attorneys to tell a complete, consistent and credible story before and during trial, says David Metz at IMS Legal Strategies.

  • Challenges Remain In Financing Energy Transition Minerals

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    COP28, the latest U.N. climate conference, reached a consensus on a just and equitable transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, but more action and funding will be needed to ensure that developed countries responsibly source the minerals that will be critical for this process, say attorneys at Watson Farley.

  • Exxon ESG Proxy Statement Suit May Chill Investor Proposals

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    Exxon Mobil’s recent use of a Texas federal lawsuit to intimidate shareholders into withdrawing a climate-friendly proxy proposal could inspire more public companies to sue to avoid adopting ESG resolutions — a power move that would chill activist investor participation and unbalance shareholder-corporate relations, say Domenico Minerva and James Fee at Labaton Keller.

  • 3 Principles For Minimizing The Risk Of A Nuclear Verdict

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    In one of the latest examples of so-called nuclear verdicts, a single plaintiff was awarded $2.25 billion in a jury trial against Monsanto — revealing the need for defense attorneys to prioritize trust, connection and simplicity when communicating with modern juries, say Jenny Hergenrother and Mia Falzarano at Alston & Bird.

  • Series

    Coaching High School Wrestling Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Coaching my son’s high school wrestling team has been great fun, but it’s also demonstrated how a legal career can benefit from certain experiences, such as embracing the unknown, studying the rules and engaging with new people, says Richard Davis at Maynard Nexsen.

  • What To Know About RWI In Acquisition And Divestiture Deals

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    As a slower pace of merger activity turns underwriters toward new industries, representations and warranties insurance policies are increasingly being written for acquisition and divestiture energy deals, making it important for contracting parties to understand how the RWI underwriting process works in this new sector, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.

  • Opinion

    New La. Gas Pipeline Projects Must Respect Rules And Rights

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    As pipeline developers rush to join in Louisiana's Haynesville Shale gas boom, established operators like Energy Transfer are justified in demanding that newer entrants respect safety rules, regulatory requirements and property rights when proposing routes that would cross existing pipelines, says Joshua Campbell at Campbell Law.

  • Freight Forwarders And Common Carriers: Know Your Cargo

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    Freight forwarders and other nonprincipal parties involved in global cargo movement should follow the guidance in the multi-agency know-your-cargo compliance note to avoid enforcement actions should they fail to spot evasive tactics used in supply chains to circumvent U.S. sanctions and export controls, say attorneys at Venable.

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