Court Lets Stand Exxon Win In Decade-Old Securities Case

By Spencer Brewer

A Texas federal judge denied a motion by a class of Exxon Mobil Corp. investors seeking a new trial in a 10-year-old securities class action claiming the energy giant misled shareholders, saying Wednesday that the company's closing arguments did not prejudice the jury.

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Wash. Officials Immune To Energy Code Suit, 9th Circ. Says

By Rae Ann Varona

The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday refused to revive a building industry coalition's lawsuit challenging Washington state regulations that discourage natural gas appliances in new construction, holding in a published opinion that the government officials the coalition sued are "shielded by sovereign immunity."

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Nuclear Energy Firm HGP Going Public Via $1.2B SPAC Deal

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Energy infrastructure developer HGP Intelligent Energy LLC has unveiled plans to go public by merging with special purpose acquisition company Meshflow Acquisition Corp. in a deal that boasts a pro forma equity value of roughly $1.2 billion and was built by three law firms.

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Analog, Alif Ink $1.4B Deal Steered By Wachtell And DLA Piper

By Al Barbarino

Analog Devices said Wednesday it has agreed to acquire Alif Semiconductor for $1.35 billion in cash, with Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz and DLA Piper advising on the transaction. 

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Great Britain To Briefly Cancel VAT On Domestic Electricity

By Kevin Pinner

The United Kingdom will cancel value-added tax on electricity for domestic purposes in Great Britain from October through March, according to HM Revenue & Customs.

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Mich. To Revisit Line 5 Tunnel Permits After High Court Ruling

By Melanie Dorsey

Michigan environmental regulators will reconsider permits issued in July for Enbridge Energy LP's proposed Line 5 tunnel beneath the Straits of Mackinac after the Michigan Supreme Court found earlier this year that a separate state approval of the project relied on an improperly narrow environmental review, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Wednesday. 

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3rd Circ. Vacates Approval For NJ Pipeline Project

By Carla Baranauckas

The Third Circuit has vacated New Jersey's approval of a water quality certification for Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co. LLC's proposed Northeast Supply Enhancement project, ruling that the state unlawfully deferred requirements for monitoring and corrective action and failed to explain how the project would meet water quality standards.

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Enviro Groups Challenge BLM's Colo., Wyo. Oil Lease Sales

By Rachel Konieczny

Two environmental advocacy nonprofits accused the Bureau of Land Management and related agencies of flouting federal law by authorizing the leasing of "environmentally sensitive public lands" in Colorado and Wyoming for oil and gas development, according to a lawsuit filed in Colorado federal court.

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Chevron, Insurers Settle $52M Iran Oil Seizure Dispute

By Elaine Briseño

Three insurers have reached a settlement with Chevron over whether their separate marine cargo and war risk policies covered nearly $52 million worth of crude oil the Iranian military seized in retaliation for U.S. economic sanctions.

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Conn. Regulator GC Admonished To Abide By Records Law

By Brian Steele

The Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission admonished the general counsel for the state's utility regulator on Wednesday, warning attorney Scott Muska to properly handle public records requests according to state law.

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Ex-Nikola CEO's Pardon Doesn't Let Him Beat Investor Suit

By Katryna Perera

The presidential pardon Nikola founder Trevor Milton received for his criminal conviction on securities fraud charges does not bar him from facing similar civil claims alleging he and the electric-vehicle startup exaggerated the viability of the company's prospects, an Arizona federal judge ruled.

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Ford Says DOT Concern Over China Tech 'Wrongheaded'

By Jack McLoone

Ford Motor Co. pushed back on U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy's "profound concern" over what he said was too close of a relationship between it and a Chinese battery manufacturer, saying the claims are unfounded and don't mesh with other administration stances.

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Mexico Owes $15.9M For Closing Quarry Site, Tribunal Says

By Caroline Simson

An international tribunal has determined that Mexico violated international law when it partially shut down limestone quarrying by a unit of U.S.-based construction aggregates company Vulcan Materials Co., an award made public on Wednesday said.

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Unpacking Texas' New Grid Reliability Rules For Data Centers

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas’ recently effective technical and compliance obligations, designed to prevent data centers and other large energy customers from causing cascading outages when they go offline, will challenge facilities to develop equipment and protocols to help protect the grid, says Casey Bell at Balch & Bingham.

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DOJ Says Berkeley Law Is Racially Biased In Admissions

By Craig Clough

The U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Education said Wednesday that the University of California, Berkeley School of Law discriminated against white and Asian applicants in its 2024 and 2025 admissions cycles by preferring Black applicants because of their race, violating federal civil rights law and recent U.S. Supreme Court precedent.

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Murdaugh Murder Retrial Venue Shift Fueled By Bias Concern

By Emily Sawicki

A South Carolina trial court has approved a request to move Alex Murdaugh's murder retrial to a different county, finding the disgraced attorney could not expect a fair trial in Colleton County, where his wife and son were killed and where he was previously convicted for the crimes.

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Sugar Buyers Want Paul Weiss DQ'd From Price-Fixing MDL

By Dorothy Atkins

Hershey, J.M. Smucker and other food makers urged a Minnesota federal judge Tuesday to disqualify Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP from representing Domino Foods in sugar price-fixing multidistrict litigation, arguing the firm is conflicted out because it saw their confidential sugar-purchasing data when it was being considered as plaintiffs' counsel.

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Virginia Law Prof Says He'll Take USPTO General Counsel Job

By Jack Rodgers

A University of Virginia School of Law professor who has taught tort, administrative, patent and international intellectual property law there for more than 15 years recently said he plans to become the new general counsel of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

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Hogan Lovells Partner Tapped For Mass. Judgeship

By Julie Manganis

A Hogan Lovells Cadwalader senior partner has been nominated to a seat as an associate justice on the Massachusetts Superior Court, the governor's office announced Wednesday.

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Kilpatrick Atty Tapped For Yakima County Bench In Wash.

By Ben Adlin

Washington's governor appointed Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP litigator Bree R. Black Horse to the Yakima County Superior Court bench on Wednesday, filling the first new position added to that court in nearly three decades.

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