A Fifth Circuit panel overturned a license approval for a deepwater port off Texas, ruling that the Trump administration failed to properly consider how a pipeline serving the offshore crude oil export facility would intersect a pipeline for another approved port.
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FRIDAY, AUGUST 14, 2026 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

5th Circ. Nixes Fed Approval For Offshore Oil Export Port

By Tom Lotshaw

A Fifth Circuit panel overturned a license approval for a deepwater port off Texas, ruling that the Trump administration failed to properly consider how a pipeline serving the offshore crude oil export facility would intersect a pipeline for another approved port.

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Via Renewables Buyout Suit Survives Dismissal Bid In Del.

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court has refused to dismiss a stockholder suit challenging Via Renewables Inc. founder William K. Maxwell III's $11-per-share take-private deal, finding it reasonably conceivable that key minority stockholder protections came too late in the negotiations.

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Davis Polk Sues Power Co. Ex-Clients Over $3.2M Fees

By Emily Sawicki

Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP is pursuing New York state court claims against former energy company clients, accusing them of abruptly ceasing payments and failing to pay $3.2 million in fees accrued amid an underlying contract dispute.

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POLICY & REGULATION

Arizona, Tribes Sign Deal To Offset Coal Economy Losses

By Crystal Owens

Arizona, the Hopi Tribe and the Navajo Nation have signed an agreement that aims to boost economic growth for tribal communities that lost thousands of jobs and millions in revenue after major coal mining companies stopped or scaled back operations in the Four Corners region.

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White House Aims Customs AI Tool At Chinese Tariff Evasion

By Dylan Moroses

The White House identified Thursday over 40 countries from which imports carry a heightened risk of transshipment, an illegal practice of misrepresenting goods entering the U.S. that originate elsewhere such as China, and government officials are working on a new artificial intelligence enforcement tool to address those concerns.

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OIL AND GAS

Fla. Law Firm Cost Bank's $134M BP Oil Spill Claim, Suit Says

By Katryna Perera

An Ohio bank holding company has sued a Florida law firm in Ohio federal court for more than $134 million in damages, alleging the firm missed key filing deadlines while representing the bank in litigation tied to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, costing the bank its chance to recover millions in losses.

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES

Wolfspeed Escapes Investor Suit Over 'Optimistic' Projections

By Jessica Corso

A North Carolina federal judge has thrown out a proposed class action lawsuit accusing chipmaker Wolfspeed Inc. of deceiving investors about demand for its products, saying that the claims in the suit amount to "fraud by hindsight."

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PEOPLE

Skadden Energy Litigator Joins Blank Rome In Houston

By Adrian Cruz

Blank Rome LLP announced that an experienced Houston-based attorney with a focus on the energy industry has joined the firm's business litigation practice from Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

Decoding Arbitral Disputes: Award Enforcement Is Just Step 1

In Qatar National Bank v. South Sudan and Bank of South Sudan, a D.C. federal court recently confirmed a $1 billion arbitral award, but the judgment itself remains only the entrance to the asset-recovery exercise, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray's Inn Square.

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Series

Going To Hardcore Shows Makes Me A Better Lawyer

While government contracts law and the hardcore scene may seem entirely unrelated, in my experience, both are about community, focus, being prepared for the unexpected and managing chaos, says Isaac Natter at Fluet.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

Anti-DEI Group Asks FTC To Probe Law Fellowship Program

By Dorothy Atkins

An advocacy organization against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives filed an antitrust complaint with the Federal Trade Commission Wednesday, accusing Sponsors for Educational Opportunity of engaging in anticompetitive practices by allegedly colluding on DEI metrics and falsely advertising its program.

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Baker Botts Atty Cleared Of Defamation In Inventor's Suit

By Carolina Bolado

A Florida federal judge on Thursday tossed a defamation claim against a Baker Botts LLP patent attorney after agreeing with a magistrate judge's conclusion that an inventor had not shown that the lawyer's comments to a reporter were defamatory.

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NYC Bar Committee Calls For Nationwide AI Rules Framework

By Andrea Keckley

A New York City Bar Association committee concluded in a policy paper published Wednesday that artificial intelligence tools "may assist legal work but cannot substitute for professional legal judgment," calling for a national framework to be built into the Model Rules of Professional Conduct governing its use.

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Trump Picks Ex-Arkansas SG, Walmart Lawyer For 8th Circ.

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump has announced that he's looking to elevate Judge Lee Rudofsky of the Eastern District of Arkansas to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

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State Farm Attys Admit Filing Motions Full Of AI Hallucinations

By Jonathan Capriel

A law firm representing State Farm has admitted that its pretrial motions contained citations to nonexistent cases and legal quotes, errors that were seemingly "hallucinations" generated by AI software designed for lawyers and caught by the plaintiff's attorneys as they prepared for trial in a California state court case about fire damage coverage.

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Brief

DOJ Fraud Division To Reach 500 Staffers This Month

By Courtney Bublé

By the end of the month, there will be about 500 attorneys and staff in the U.S. Department of Justice's new fraud division, with more to come as time goes on.

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JP Ward Attorney Exodus Delays Pa. Labor Trafficking Suit

By Matthew Santoni

A "staffing disruption" at the Pittsburgh law firm J.P. Ward & Associates led the firm to request a stay of a labor-trafficking case against hotels in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, after the firm was reduced to one attorney and two staff members, according to court filings.

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COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Allegheny Health Network

DHL International GmbH

Earthjustice

Enel SpA

FTI Consulting Inc.

Gallup Inc.

General Electric Co.

International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes

LinkedIn Corp.

London Court of International Arbitration

M & F Worldwide Corp.

National Parks Conservation Association

New York City Bar Association

Park National Corp.

Qatar National Bank

Sponsors for Educational Opportunity Inc.

Starbucks Corp.

Via Renewables Inc.

Walmart Inc.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Inc.

LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

4 5 Gray's Inn Square

Alston & Bird

Ashby & Geddes

Avyno Law

Baker Botts

Blank Rome

Bronstein Gewirtz

Comber Miller

Cooley LLP

Covington & Burling

Cravath Swaine

Cummins & White

DLA Piper

Davis Polk

Debevoise & Plimpton

Duane Morris

Fluet & Associates PLLC

Foley Hoag

Gibson Dunn

Ice Miller

J.P. Ward & Associates

Jones Day

Jones Walker LLP

Kahn Swick

Kean Miller

Kirkland & Ellis

Levin Papantonio

McDowell Hetherington

Monteverde & Associates

Morgan Lewis

Musick Peeler

Patterson Belknap

Pomerantz LLP

Proskauer Rose

Quinn Emanuel

Robbins Geller

SML Avvocati

Schiller & Schiller PLLC

Skadden Arps

Wachtell Lipton

White & Case

Williams & Connolly

WilmerHale

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Delaware Court of Chancery

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

European Union

Executive Office of the President

Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council

Federal Trade Commission

Hopi Tribe

Los Angeles Superior Court

Maritime Administration

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court

Navajo Nation

New York Supreme Court, New York County

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

U.S. Department of Defense Office of General Counsel

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of Transportation

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

U.S. Senate

United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio