Environmental

  • June 08, 2026

    SF Sues DOE Over Clean Energy Grant's Anti-Diversity Terms

    San Francisco hit the Energy Department with a lawsuit in California federal court Friday, alleging the Trump administration is trying to coerce the city to impose contradictory and legally questionable anti-equity policy funding conditions or else face $130,000 cuts in clean energy infrastructure grants awarded to the city.

  • June 08, 2026

    Port Of Tacoma Deal Ends Pollution Row With Enviro Group

    The Port of Tacoma and the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance have reached a tentative agreement to resolve their long-running dispute over wastewater regulation enforcement, with the Washington port agreeing to pay $3.9 million for cleanup, attorney fees and research.

  • June 08, 2026

    DC Judge Undoes IRS Wind, Solar Tax Credit Limitations

    A D.C. federal judge has vacated an Internal Revenue Service notice limiting how wind and large-scale solar projects can qualify for two Biden-era clean energy tax credits, finding the Trump administration didn't sufficiently consider reliance interests and explain its rationale for the change.

  • June 08, 2026

    Shoals Solar Patent Dispute Kept Alive By NC Court

    A North Carolina federal court has refused to find that three Shoals Technologies Group solar energy patents were unenforceable in the company's infringement suit but said the court would keep certain issues in mind should the case result in a damages verdict.

  • June 08, 2026

    Feds Probe Bonfire, Gunfire Damage To Wyoming Petroglyphs

    The U.S. Bureau of Land Management says it's investigating six acts of vandalism toward Indigenous petroglyph sites in Wyoming's Bighorn Basin that have caused irreparable damage to the centuries old archaeological sites.

  • June 08, 2026

    Wash. Tribe Says Court Misread Prior Fishing Boundary Case

    A Washington tribe wants a federal court to rethink a decision to deny its bid to open a new sub-proceeding regarding its fishing treaty limits within Evergreen State waterways, saying it's the first time a district court has denied such a request on jurisdictional grounds in the case's 50-year history.

  • June 08, 2026

    Ariz. Authorizes Special Tax Districts To Fund Infrastructure

    Arizona authorized the formation of special taxing districts to fund infrastructure projects with revenue from property taxes and other sources under a bill signed by the governor.

  • June 08, 2026

    Developers Stumped By Energy Credits' Foreign Debt Limits

    Developers seeking to finalize projects financed with clean energy tax credits and several loans are hitting a roadblock in demonstrating to the IRS that their debt has limited ties to prohibited foreign entities, a requirement for qualifying for the incentives.

  • June 08, 2026

    Conn. Expands Solar Energy System Tax, Limits Exemption

    Connecticut expanded the scope of a tax on solar energy systems and limited a property tax exemption for solar energy facilities under a bill signed by the governor.

  • June 08, 2026

    High Court Won't Hear Florida Takings Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to take up a long-running dispute between a city in the Florida Keys and landowners over increasingly restrictive zoning, leaving in place a decision that said the city failed to pay the owners properly after inversely condemning their property.

  • June 08, 2026

    High Court Reopens Review Of DOE Furnace Efficiency Rules

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday vacated a D.C. Circuit decision that upheld Biden-era energy efficiency standards for furnaces and water heaters and ordered the circuit court to take another look in light of the Trump administration's intent to revise the rules.

  • June 05, 2026

    USDA Food Assistance Conditions Halted By Mass. Judge

    A Massachusetts federal judge Friday blocked the U.S. Department of Agriculture from conditioning funding for programs like school lunches and food assistance on compliance with Trump administration policies on gender, women's sports, diversity and immigration.

  • June 05, 2026

    EPA Asks 4th Circ. To Back 'Streamlined' Haze Plan Reviews

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency urged the Fourth Circuit to deny a petition challenging its approval of West Virginia's regional haze plan, saying it reasonably accepted the plan after proposing to reject it based on a new policy to streamline reviews.

  • June 05, 2026

    Site Redeveloper Fined $500K For Illegal Asbestos Demolition

    A redevelopment firm that admitted it commenced demolition work at a former automotive plant in Saginaw, Michigan, without first remediating asbestos was sentenced Friday to pay a $500,000 criminal fine and serve two years of probation, federal prosecutors said.

  • June 05, 2026

    Ga. Developer Must Pay $1M, Help Recover Native Artifacts

    A Georgia developer will pay a $1 million fine and help to repatriate Indigenous remains and artifacts after the United States alleged the company continued to build homes for a 2,230-acre development on a flood plain despite knowing about the presence of archaeological sites and cultural objects.

  • June 05, 2026

    Alaska Says No Need For July Ruling In Refuge Road Dispute

    Alaska is asking a federal court to reject an environmental group and Indigenous villages' bid for a July 15 judgment in their challenge to a federal government decision to allow a road through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, saying a date for its construction has not yet been solidified.

  • June 05, 2026

    Chevron Polluted Property With Abandoned Tanks, Suit Says

    A pair of Connecticut property owners are suing Chevron Corp. in state court, claiming that it is responsible for pollution to their property after it allegedly abandoned and failed to properly clean oil tanks on a former petroleum storage terminal facility.

  • June 05, 2026

    Trust Tells DC Circ. Security Isn't Viable Reason For Ballroom

    The National Trust for Historic Preservation argued to the D.C. Circuit on Friday that the administration can't use national security as a reason to build the ballroom at the White House.

  • June 05, 2026

    DOE Announces More Financial Support For US Coal Industry

    The Trump administration Thursday said it will steer hundreds of millions of dollars to projects in the U.S. coal industry, asserting it has a critical role to play in the country's energy sector.

  • June 04, 2026

    Tyco To Pay $10M To Resolve Wis. PFAS Contamination Suit

    Tyco Fire Products has agreed to shell out $10 million and continue to address PFAS contamination in Wisconsin under what the state called a "historic" agreement resolving allegations that the company failed to report or remediate harmful chemicals seeping into the groundwater around a firefighting testing site.

  • June 04, 2026

    Mining Cos. Join Feds In Seeking To End Minn. Tribe's Suit

    Two mining companies and the U.S. Forest Service have asked a Minnesota federal court to throw out the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians' lawsuit over a land exchange related to an open-pit copper-nickel mine project.

  • June 04, 2026

    Exxon Owes $580K For Atty Fees In Gas Station Cleanup Suit

    Exxon Mobil must pay nearly $580,000 in legal fees and costs after a Washington federal judge found the oil giant partially on the hook for the cleanup of a Seattle gas station, awarding half the station owner's requested amount based on its "limited success" at trial.

  • June 04, 2026

    Atkore Inks Additional $50M Deal In PVC Pipe Antitrust Row

    Atkore Inc. has reached another settlement in litigation claiming it conspired with other polyvinyl chloride pipe producers to fix prices, this time agreeing to pay $50 million to a class of end-user plaintiffs, according to a motion for preliminary approval of the deal filed Thursday in Illinois federal court.

  • June 04, 2026

    Is Pattie Gonna Get Out Of This? Patagonia's IP And PR Pickle

    Patagonia's trademark infringement suit against drag queen and environmental activist Pattie Gonia has caught the attention of both intellectual property attorneys and popular culture aficionados, with lawyers saying the action highlights how IP enforcement and public relations management aren't always in perfect harmony.

  • June 04, 2026

    Al Jazeera Beats DMCA Claim, For Now, In Storm Video Suit

    A California federal judge has dismissed videographers' claim that Al Jazeera falsified copyright attribution on weather footage posted to YouTube, finding the plaintiffs failed to plausibly allege the network acted with intent to facilitate infringement, while giving them a chance to amend their complaint.

Expert Analysis

  • Checking For AI Errors Is Now A Two-Way Street

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    A handful of recent federal and state cases demonstrate the importance of checking for errors generated by artificial intelligence not only in your own court submissions, but also your opponent's, as well as when catching opposing counsel's AI mistakes could result in an award for attorney fees, says Tamara Barago at Hollingsworth.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Shoring Up Corporate Law In Maryland

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    Launched more than 20 years ago to improve complex corporate adjudication, Maryland's Business and Technology Case Management Program has been a solid success in some areas, but there always is room for improvement, says Bill Krulak at Miles & Stockbridge.

  • State Enviro Agencies Give Cosmetics Regulation A Makeover

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    As state oversight of cosmetics rapidly expands, the new statutes and regulations governing these products are being implemented by environmental agencies rather than consumer product regulators, requiring manufacturers, distributors and retailers to reevaluate their supply chains and procedures, say attorneys at Baker Botts.

  • Federal Officer Removal After Justices' La. Pollution Ruling

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    In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Chevron USA v. Plaquemines Parish, companies seeking to use federal officer removal to move litigation out of state court should ask three questions, focusing on government contract language, federally directed activity and related conduct, say attorneys at Hollingsworth.

  • Series

    Competing At Poker Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing poker in male-dominated rooms taught me to treat skepticism as background noise when my opponents seem to underestimate me, to apply pressure when it matters and to adapt without losing strategic discipline — skills that are all indispensable in restructuring and insolvency matters, says Alexis Gambale at Pashman Stein.

  • 5 Things Associates Must Ask About Their Firm's Merger Plan

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    The associates who navigate law firm mergers best ask the right questions early, such as inquiring about partners' plans, to assess how the merger could affect their workflow and career path, says Jackie Bokser-LeFebvre at Major Lindsey.

  • 2 'Rocket Dockets' And The Rules That Propel Them

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    The fastest civil trial courts in the country are currently in the Eastern District of Virginia and the Southern District of Florida, and their chief judges provide insights into the court rules that keep them ahead, says Robert Tata at Hunton.

  • Why Nuclear Licensees Must Watch 2nd Circ.'s Holtec Review

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    In reviewing a New York federal court's preemption ruling concerning disposal of nuclear materials, the Second Circuit must confront the lower court's recognition of a purpose-based path to field preemption, which could be game-changing for nuclear material licensees, says Andrew Averbach at Womble Bond.

  • Your Next Litigation Hold Should Cover AI Chat Logs

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    The Delaware Chancery Court’s recent decision in Fortis Advisors v. Krafton to treat a CEO’s artificial intelligence chats as substantive evidence is being read as a discovery warning to litigators, but there is a second duty-to-preserve lesson that is especially pertinent to in-house counsel, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

  • Series

    Studying Foreign Languages Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Studying Italian and Japanese has shown me that learning a new language can benefit a legal career in several ways, including by demonstrating the importance of approaching problems from a fresh perspective and the value of practicing patience with colleagues and clients, says Anna King at Genworth Financial.

  • Del. Justices' Ripeness Ruling Shields Advance Notice Bylaws

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    The Delaware Supreme Court’s recent decision dismissing two AES and Owens Corning stockholder challenges of advance notice bylaws as unripe provides corporations more room to insulate their nomination procedures from activist pressure, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

  • Looking Beyond Calif. Climate Laws As NY Bills Advance

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    California's climate disclosure legislation has made emissions and risk reporting a practical reality — and now that New York is working on its own climate disclosure bills, companies must confront a future in which compliance systems will need to be ready for multiple states' reporting regimes, says Thierry Montoya at FBT Gibbons.

  • Series

    NY Times Word Puzzles Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Every morning I let The New York Times humble me with word games, which offer a chance to recalibrate my brain before the day's chaos arrives and remind me that a solution — whether to a puzzle or employment law issue — almost always exists once I find the right angle, says Amy Epstein Gluck at Pierson Ferdinand.

  • Data Center Developer Lessons From Maine's Vetoed Ban

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    The regulatory and political dynamics that recently led Maine’s governor to veto a popular bipartisan bill proposing a temporary data center development ban offer a useful template that developers can use to help their projects survive other states' attempts at moratoriums, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lesson: Diagnose Before Arguing

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    Law school often skips over explicitly teaching students how to determine what kind of problem a case presents before they commit to a particular doctrinal path, which risks building arguments that are internally coherent but externally misaligned, says Melanie Oxhorn at Kobre & Kim.

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