A Pennsylvania county's lawsuit that accuses oil companies of concealing the impacts of fossil fuels on climate change isn't preempted by federal law and should be revived, a state appellate court heard Wednesday.
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2026 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

Pa. County Urges Appeals Court To Revive Climate Suit

By Keith Goldberg

A Pennsylvania county's lawsuit that accuses oil companies of concealing the impacts of fossil fuels on climate change isn't preempted by federal law and should be revived, a state appellate court heard Wednesday.

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DC Circ. Not Fan Of EPA's Citation Habits In Methane Appeal

By Nadia Dreid

The D.C. Circuit didn't seem too sure Wednesday morning whether the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had behaved how it ought to have when extending compliance deadlines for initiating requirements to reduce methane pollution from the oil and gas sector.

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3rd Circ. Backs Pa. Regulator In Pipeline Approval Fight

By George Woolston

The Third Circuit on Wednesday affirmed a Pennsylvania regulator's approval of a Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co. project, ruling there was no evidence the water quality information pushed by environmental groups would have altered the outcome of the application.

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POLICY & REGULATION

4 Questions After US, China Announce Tariff Shield

By Dylan Moroses

The U.S. and China's recent announcement that they will shield a subset of goods from tariff actions and extend a trade truce is welcome by importers and advisers, though those stakeholders recognize more substantive policy outcomes between the world's two largest economies continue to face obstacles. Here, Law360 looks at four questions on the subject.

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OIL AND GAS

Venture Global Beats Investor Action Over IPO Disclosures

By Katryna Perera

Energy company Venture Global Inc. has permanently defeated a proposed class action accusing it of hiding production issues and cost overruns at its Louisiana natural gas liquefaction and export projects ahead of its $1.75 billion initial public offering, with a New York federal judge finding the suit failed to plead any material misleading statements.

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Paraquat Judge Demands To Meet 700 Opt-Out Plaintiffs

By Cara Salvatore

The Illinois federal judge overseeing mass litigation claiming the herbicide paraquat causes Parkinson's disease ordered a plaintiffs' lawyer Wednesday to reveal who is funding his cases and to start attending fortnightly conferences so she can speak to each of his 700 clients who have opted out of a global settlement.

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DATA CENTERS

Sens. Probe Meta For Claiming Tax Credits On AI Data Centers

By Gina Kim

Democratic senators called on Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to explain why he's justifying the use of billions in federal research tax credits to pay for building the company's AI data centers, warning that doing so is a possible misapplication of federal tax law that could prompt further investigation.

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UTILITIES AND POWER

Conn. AG, Advocate Want Utility Regulator To Probe AI Use

By Aaron Keller

Citing Avangrid Inc. and Eversource Energy statements about adopting artificial intelligence tools, Connecticut's attorney general and a ratepayer advocate office have urged state utilities regulators to launch an "extensive" review of whether AI is being employed to help manage electric, gas and water systems statewide.

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Atty Sanctioned For Vulgar Emails To Opposing Counsel

By Elliot Weld

A Texas federal magistrate judge has sanctioned an attorney who serves as principal for an oil and gas exploration company locked in a trade secret misappropriation case with a rival after opposing counsel complained of his expletive-ridden emails containing ad hominem attacks.

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FirstEnergy Beats 3rd Circ. Appeal In Fatal Catwalk Fall Suit

By Matthew Santoni

The mother of a construction worker killed by a collapsing catwalk can't sue the former operator of a Pennsylvania power plant because she hadn't shown FirstEnergy Corp. retained sufficient control over a demolition contractor to share liability, a split Third Circuit panel ruled Wednesday.

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Argentina Seeks Pause In $732M Arbitral Award Suit

By Caroline Simson

Argentina is urging a D.C. federal court to pause litigation filed by the U.S. utility AES Corp. to enforce a more than $732 million arbitral award, months after an enforcement stay in ongoing annulment proceedings was lifted due to the country's inability to post security.

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES

EV Charging Co. To Pay Investors $4M In Liquidity Woes Suit

By Sydney Price

Bankrupt electric-vehicle charging infrastructure company Charge Enterprises Inc. has agreed to pay $4 million to resolve an investor's proposed class action alleging the company and its executives concealed a liquidity crisis involving the founder and his investment advisory firm before the company's downfall.

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MINING

Groups Win Bid To Reopen Suits Over Native Monument Cuts

By Crystal Owens

A D.C. district court judge has agreed to reopen a series of stayed cases challenging President Donald Trump's removal of millions of acres from the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah, saying circumstances have changed after a Tenth Circuit decision.

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Canadian Mining Co., Mexico Move To Settle $1.3B Tax Feud

By Kevin Pinner

A Canadian mining company reached an agreement in principle with Mexico to settle a dispute over the validity of transfer pricing arrangements for offshore silver dealings by the company's subsidiary that have led to nearly $1.3 billion in assessments of taxes, penalties and interest.

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PEOPLE

Willkie Grows DC Office With Senior Westinghouse Atty

By Christine DeRosa

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP has expanded its offerings in the nation's capital with a nuclear energy attorney who most recently worked in-house at U.S.-based global nuclear power provider Westinghouse Electric Co.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

5th Circ. Ruling Shows Lien Deadlines Can Decide Priority

The Fifth Circuit's recent decision in Adler v. Energy Debt Holdings warns buyers of secured claims to watch for binding concessions in earlier proceedings and court-imposed lien challenge deadlines, says Jennifer Maleski at Dilworth Paxson.

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What Lawyers Should Know Before Accepting Crypto Payment

As clients increasingly request to pay legal fees, retainers and escrow funds using cryptocurrency, lawyers should consider how only a handful of state bar authorities have addressed the issue with varying ethics opinions, as well as the related questions that no authority has yet answered, says attorney Felix Shipkevich.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

Watchdog Wants Probe Of Trump Press Secretary's Atty Claim

By Jack Karp

A nonprofit government watchdog on Wednesday asked the State Bar of California to investigate whether the new White House press secretary has claimed to be an attorney without being licensed to practice law.

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Ex-BigLaw Atty Wants Firm Docs For Insider Trading Defense

By Carolyn Muyskens

A former BigLaw associate accused of insider trading is seeking records from ex-employers Sidley Austin LLP, Latham & Watkins LLP and Goodwin Procter LLP to help fight charges that he tipped others about nonpublic deals the firms were working on.

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Quinn Emanuel Seeks Arbitration Of $1.7M Fee Dispute

By Caroline Simson

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP is urging a California federal court to order an entrepreneur to arbitrate malpractice claims stemming from the firm's representation of her in a sexual harassment claim against a technology investor as it seeks to collect more than $1.7 million in unpaid fees.

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Baker Botts Atty Seeks $3.4M In Fees After Defamation Suit

By Madison Arnold

A Baker Botts LLP patent attorney has moved for almost $3.4 million in attorney fees and expenses in a defamation suit an inventor brought against her that was dismissed.

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Fox Rothschild Beats Daycare's Malicious Prosecution Suit

By George Woolston

A New Jersey state court dismissed an adult daycare company's suit against Fox Rothschild LLP and one of its attorneys related to their prosecution of a fraudulent loan lawsuit that led to a $65,000 sanction against the firm, according to a court order.

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DLA Piper Accused Of Malpractice In Investor's Soccer Deals

By Bonnie Eslinger

American businessman John Textor has filed a legal malpractice suit in Florida against DLA Piper over the firm's representation in connection with an investment vehicle he created to acquire soccer clubs in the United Kingdom and other countries, claiming his damages could exceed hundreds of millions of dollars.

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COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Actelion Ltd.

Amazon.com Inc.

American Bar Association

Ameris Bancorp

Anadarko Petroleum Corp.

Arena Investors LP

Ares Management Corp.

Avangrid Inc.

Center for Biological Diversity Inc.

Charge Enterprises Inc.

Chevron Corp.

Delaware Riverkeeper Network

Earthjustice

Environmental Defense Fund Inc.

Ernst & Young LLP

Eversource Energy

FirstEnergy Corp.

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes

International Finance Corp.

Johnson & Johnson

LinkedIn Corp.

Maryland State Bar Association

Meta Platforms Inc.

Michael Baker International LLC

NVIDIA Corp.

National Parks Conservation Association

Natural Resources Defense Council

New York City Bar Association

North Carolina State Bar

Occidental Petroleum Corp.

Optimum

Permira

Sierra Club

Silver Wheaton Corp.

Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance

Starbucks Corp.

State Bar of California

Suncor Energy Inc.

Syngenta AG

The AES Corp.

The District of Columbia Bar

The New York Times Co.

The Wilderness Society

Venture Global LNG

Virginia State Bar

Westinghouse Electric Co. LLC

eBay Inc.

iRobot Corporation

LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

ArentFox Schiff

Avyno Law

Baker Botts

Bragar Eagel

Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner

Chaffetz Lindsey

DLA Piper

DiCello Levitt

Dickinson Wright

Dilworth Paxson

Dinsmore & Shohl

Donovan Rose Nester

Duane Morris

Dynamis LLP

Enenstein Pham

Fox Rothschild

Freshfields

Gibson Dunn

Goodwin Procter

Gordon Rees

Hogan Lovells

Husch Blackwell

Jones Day

Kilpatrick Townsend

Kirkland & Ellis

Labaton Keller

Latham & Watkins

Law Offices of Gregory K. Evans

Levin Papantonio

Marion & Allen

Martin G. Weinberg PC

McCarter & English

McDonald Hopkins

Meyers & Flowers

Morgan Lewis

Nelson Mullins

Pillsbury Winthrop

Porter Thomas

Proskauer Rose

Quinn Emanuel

Reed Smith

Robbins Geller

Rossman Legal

SML Avvocati

Saltz Mongeluzzi

Saul Ewing

Shaw Cowart

Shipkevich PLLC

Sidley Austin

Steptoe & Johnson PLLC

Stevens & Lee

Sullivan & Cromwell

Wachtell Lipton

Wagstaff Law Firm

Walkup Melodia

Weil Gotshal

Williams & Connolly

Willkie Farr

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Executive Office of the President

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Government of Mexico

Hopi Tribe

Internal Revenue Service

NAFTA

Navajo Nation

Nebraska Supreme Court

Office of the U.S. Trade Representative

Ohio Attorney General's Office

Pennsylvania Supreme Court

Small Business Administration

U.S. Attorney's Office

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts

U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. District & Bankruptcy Courts of Southern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas

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

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

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Navy

U.S. Senate

U.S. Supreme Court

Ute Mountain Ute Tribe

World Bank Group