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Environmental
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May 29, 2025
Kids Launch New Climate Case Over Trump Energy Orders
The U.S. government on Thursday was hit with a fresh lawsuit from youths alleging that federal energy policies harm their future by exacerbating climate change, specifically targeting President Donald Trump's executive orders aimed at boosting fossil fuels.
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May 29, 2025
Texas Bars Some Property Tax Hikes Above Voter-OK'd Rates
Texas will prohibit school districts from adopting property tax rates above voter-approved thresholds in response to a natural disaster if voters previously rejected a similar proposed rate increase, under a bill signed by Gov. Greg Abbott.
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May 29, 2025
Crowell & Moring Hires Ex-EPA Deputy Assistant Admin In SF
Crowell & Moring LLP announced on Thursday the hiring of a former deputy assistant administrator from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as senior counsel in the firm's environmental and regulatory enforcement groups in its San Francisco office.
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May 29, 2025
RJ Reynolds Lied About Carbon Offset Of Vapes, Suit Says
A group of California vape users is suing R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co. and its U.S. and British affiliates in federal court, alleging that its claims that the Vuse vape is the first carbon-neutral electronic cigarette are misleading.
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May 29, 2025
High Court Restores Federal Approval Of Utah Oil Railway
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the federal government's approval of a rail project intended to haul crude oil out of Utah's Uinta Basin.
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May 28, 2025
16 States Sue Trump Admin Over Cuts To Science Grants
A coalition of 16 state attorneys general have sued the Trump administration in New York federal court on Wednesday to stop it from cutting millions of dollars in grant funds from the National Science Foundation for scientific research and programs aimed at enhancing diversity, equity and inclusion in STEM fields and environmental justice.
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May 28, 2025
Elon Musk Is Leaving White House Role, Trump Admin Says
Billionaire Elon Musk is ending his work with President Donald Trump and the federal Department of Government Efficiency, a White House official confirmed Wednesday evening.
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May 28, 2025
DOI Faces Energy Co. Suit Over Fort Berthold Oil Lease
A Colorado energy company has sued the federal government over what it says is an approved 60-year-old oil and gas lease, saying that it was suddenly told in April that it never actually owned an interest in the lease on an Indian reservation in North Dakota.
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May 28, 2025
NRC Has No Defense For New License Rules, DC Circ. Told
Two anti-nuclear power groups are contending before the D.C. Circuit that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is offering inconsistent arguments in defense of updated regulations for renewing nuclear power plant operating licenses.
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May 28, 2025
Feds Ask SC Judge To Toss Suit Over Frozen Grant Funding
The Trump administration urged a South Carolina federal judge to dismiss a complaint challenging its authority to freeze and terminate grant funding for lack of jurisdiction, as it also appeals an order directing it to restore several dozen grants funded by Congress.
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May 28, 2025
Feds Tell Justices 9th Circ. Wrongly OK'd CWA Citizen Suit
The federal government is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to sink an environmental group's Clean Water Act citizen suit seeking to enforce the terms of a Washington state-issued pollutant-discharge permit that is stricter than the law requires.
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May 28, 2025
Judge Shields NY Congestion Pricing From Feds' Threats
New York's congestion pricing program can keep running at least through the fall, after a federal judge on Wednesday signaled that the U.S. Department of Transportation likely overstepped its authority by purportedly terminating a federal agreement that gave congestion pricing the green light.
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May 28, 2025
Feds Won't Appeal Offshore Fish Farming Permit Decision
The federal government will not appeal a decision to set aside a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' permit intended to speed up industrial aquaculture in public ocean waters, ending the dispute and any future use of the structures off the country's eastern and western coasts.
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May 28, 2025
CFPB Energy Loan Rule An 'Unlawful Power Grab,' Suit Says
Lenders that finance clean energy home improvement projects on Wednesday challenged a Biden-era rule that applies standard mortgage protections to loans where homeowners pay for such projects through property tax bills, saying the rule is unlawful and threatens to kill their business.
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May 28, 2025
DOL Tells 5th Circ. It Will Craft New ESG Rule For 401(k) Plans
The U.S. Department of Labor told the Fifth Circuit on Wednesday that it will launch new rulemaking and move "as expeditiously as possible" to replace Biden administration regulations on whether fiduciaries can consider issues like climate change and social justice when choosing retirement plan investments.
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May 28, 2025
SunCoke Energy Expanding With $325M Phoenix Global Buy
SunCoke Energy Inc. said Wednesday that it has agreed to acquire Phoenix Global, a privately held provider of metals and mining services, for $325 million on a cash-free, debt-free basis.
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May 28, 2025
Groups Claim Mass. Offshore Wind Will Harm Views, Wildlife
Opponents of a permitted offshore wind project that would provide power to Massachusetts have sued in D.C. federal court, arguing turbines would bring problems for marine life and disrupt views on the historic islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard.
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May 28, 2025
Insurance Atty Talks FEMA Cuts As Storm, Fire Seasons Near
As hurricane and wildfire seasons approach, Anthony Lopez, founder of the law firm Your Insurance Attorney, told Law360 Real Estate Authority that with natural disasters intensifying, the Trump administration's cuts to FEMA are likely to put more pressure on states and property owners in an already challenging insurance environment.
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May 27, 2025
Musk, DOGE Fail To Nix States' Suit Against 'Limitless' Power
Fourteen states can proceed in their lawsuit challenging Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency's influence in the federal government after a D.C. federal judge Tuesday refused to toss their suit, rejecting the government's contention that Musk wasn't subject to the U.S. Constitution's appointments clause.
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May 27, 2025
Proterra Investors Push For Final OK Of $29M Settlement
Proterra Inc. investors have asked a California federal court to sign off on a $29 million deal resolving allegations that the bankrupt electric-vehicle maker's executives misled them about liquidity issues, according to a motion for final approval of the settlement filed Tuesday.
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May 27, 2025
Greenpeace Fights To Walk Back $666M Pipeline Verdict
Greenpeace on Tuesday continued its post-trial attack on a $666 million defamation and property damage case against Dakota Access pipeline builder Energy Transfer, telling a North Dakota judge that a lack of evidence requires overturning numerous jury findings.
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May 27, 2025
Gorsuch Says Oak Flat Ruling Will Harm Native Generations
The Supreme Court's decision to deny an Apache nonprofit's petition that looked to save a centuries-old Arizona Indigenous worship site from destruction to make way for a multibillion-dollar copper mine is a grievous mistake with consequences that threaten to reverberate for generations, Justice Neil Gorsuch said in a Tuesday dissent.
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May 27, 2025
Bayer, Monsanto On Hook For $611M Roundup Cancer Awards
A Missouri appellate panel Tuesday affirmed a trial court's $611 million award reduced from a jury's $1.56 billion verdict for three people who claimed their cancer was caused by Bayer unit Monsanto Co.'s Roundup weedkiller, saying a law professor's testimony about a Ninth Circuit decision was not prejudicial.
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May 27, 2025
9th Circ. Revives Tribes', Green Groups' Power Line Suit
The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday revived a lawsuit challenging the federal government's decision to allow a 520-mile power line route through cultural sites, saying in a published opinion that a coalition of tribes and conservation groups plausibly alleged the government authorized construction before properly identifying historic sites the project affected.
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May 27, 2025
Expert Says DuPont Knew Of PFAS Risk At NJ Site
A former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency policy adviser told a New Jersey federal court on Tuesday that E.I. du Pont de Nemours knew of the risk of "forever chemicals" and failed to disclose that risk to federal and Garden State regulators despite its obligation to do so.
Expert Analysis
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Navigating The Trump Enviro Rollback And Its Consequences
The Trump administration's rapid push for environmental deregulation will lead to both opportunities and challenges, requiring companies to adopt strategic approaches to a complex, unpredictable legal environment in which federal rollbacks are countered by increased enforcement by states, and risks of citizen litigation may be heightened, say attorneys at Beveridge & Diamond.
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Series
Competitive Weightlifting Makes Me A Better Lawyer
The parallels between the core principles required for competitive weightlifting and practicing law have helped me to excel in both endeavors, with each holding important lessons about discipline, dedication, drive and failure, says Damien Bielli at VF Law.
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8 Ways Cos. Can Prep For Termination Of Their Enviro Grants
The federal government appears to be reviewing energy- and infrastructure-related grants and potentially terminating grants inconsistent with the Trump administration's stated policy goals, and attorneys at DLA Piper provide eight steps that recipients of grants should consider taking in the interim.
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Opinion
Undoing An American Ideal Of Fairness
President Donald Trump’s orders attacking birthright citizenship, civil rights education, and diversity, equity and inclusion programs threaten hard-won constitutional civil rights protections and decades of efforts to undo bias in the law — undermining what Chief Justice Earl Warren called "our American ideal of fairness," says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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How Trump EPA Could Fix Carbon Combustion Residuals Rule
The Trump administration is likely targeting the recently adopted carbon combustion residual rule, especially since it imposes very stringent, detailed and expedited requirements on coal power plants — but even if the rule is not vacated entirely, there are measures that could greatly reduce its regulatory burden, says Stephen Jones at Post & Schell.
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Nippon Order Tests Gov't Control Over Foreign Investments
The U.S. government is primarily interested in restraining foreign transactions involving countries of concern, but former President Joe Biden’s January order blocking the merger of Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel shows that all foreign direct investments are under the federal government’s microscope, say attorneys at Blank Rome.
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Opinion
Inconsistent Injury-In-Fact Rules Hinder Federal Practice
A recent Third Circuit decision, contradicting a previous ruling about whether consumers of contaminated products have suffered an injury in fact, illustrates the deep confusion this U.S. Supreme Court standard creates among federal judges and practitioners, who deserve a simpler method of determining which cases have federal standing, says Eric Dwoskin at Dwoskin Wasdin.
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How Trump Orders Roll Back Energy Efficiency Mandates
President Donald Trump's first-day executive orders — including a freeze on administrative rules, an order to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, and a directive to broaden consumers' appliance choices — have shifted federal policy on energy efficiency, and bring new considerations for companies engaging with the U.S. Department of Energy, say attorneys at HWG.
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Expect Continued Antitrust Enforcement In Procurement
The scope of federal antitrust enforcement under the second Trump administration remains uncertain, but the Procurement Collusion Strike Force, which collaborates with federal and state agencies to enforce antitrust laws in the government procurement space, is likely to remain active — so contractors must stay vigilant, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.
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In-House Counsel Pointers For Preserving Atty-Client Privilege
Several recent rulings illustrate the challenges in-house counsel can face when attempting to preserve attorney-client privilege, but a few best practices can help safeguard communications and effectively assert the privilege in an increasingly scrutinized corporate environment, says Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics.
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Emerging Energy Trends Reflect Shifting Political Landscape
As the Trump administration settles in, some emerging energy industry trends, like expanded support for fossil fuel production, are right off of its wish list — while others, like the popularity of Inflation Reduction Act energy tax credits, and bipartisan support for carbon capture, reflect more complex political realities, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.
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Tax-Free Ways To Help Employees After The LA Wildfires
Following the recent wildfires in Los Angeles, there are various tax-free ways to give employees the resources and flexibility they need, including simpler methods like disaster relief payments under Internal Revenue Code Section 139 and leave-sharing programs, and others that require more planning, says Ligeia Donis at Baker McKenzie.
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Improving Comms Between Trial Attys And Tech Witnesses
In major litigation involving complex technology, attorneys should employ certain strategies to collaborate with companies' technical personnel more effectively to enhance both the attorney's understanding of the subject matter and the expert's ability to provide effective testimony in court, say attorneys at Buchalter.
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As EPA Backs Down, Expect Enviros To Step Up Citizen Suits
As President Donald Trump's U.S. Environmental Protection Agency draws down federal enforcement efforts, environmental groups will step into the void and file citizen suits — so companies should focus on compliance efforts, stay savvy about emerging analytical and monitoring methods, and maintain good relations with neighbors, say attorneys at Beveridge & Diamond.
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Series
Collecting Rare Books Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My collection of rare books includes several written or owned by prominent lawyers from early U.S. history, and immersing myself in their stories helps me feel a deeper connection to my legal practice and its purpose, says Douglas Brown at Manatt Health.