Wash. Justices Back Climate Act Farm Fuel Exemption Regs

By Rachel Riley

The Washington Supreme Court unanimously rejected the Washington Farm Bureau's challenge to regulations surrounding a farm fuel exemption in a landmark 2021 law establishing the state's cap-and-invest program, finding Thursday the rule aligns with lawmakers' ultimate goal of curbing top greenhouse gas emitters.

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Ohio Justices Reject Claims Of $115M Utility Overcharges

By Keith Goldberg

The Ohio Supreme Court on Thursday rejected claims that consumers were overcharged by $115 million for electricity from aging coal-fired power plants in 2020, saying that utility regulators correctly determined that state law entitled the plants' owners to the payments.

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Feds Pay $17M To More Than 600 Plaintiffs Over Fuel Spills

By Ganesh Setty

The U.S. Department of Justice says it has issued settlement payments totaling roughly $17 million to more than 600 plaintiffs who asserted tort claims against the government over jet fuel spills from a since-shuttered U.S. Navy storage facility in Hawaii.

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Feds Immune To Cross-Claims In Caltech Pollution Suit

By Mike Curley

A California federal judge has dismissed with prejudice cross-claims from the city of Pasadena against the U.S. government in a suit by the California Institute of Technology over groundwater contamination from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, finding the federal government has immunity.

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EU Implements US Trade Deal, With Safeguards

By Jack McLoone

The European Union granted final approval Thursday to its modified version of a trade deal with the U.S. that will cut tariff rates on U.S. goods, albeit with guardrails.

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Brief

Wash. Resident Gets 18 Months For Russia Export Conspiracy

By Ganesh Setty

The U.S. Department of Justice said a Washington state resident has received a prison sentence of 18 months on Wednesday over a scheme to flout U.S. export restrictions on Russia, after pleading guilty in New York federal court in October.

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8th Circ. Backs Immunity In DAPL Protest Injury Dispute

By Crystal Owens

A panel of the Eighth Circuit has upheld a decision to dismiss a challenge by an environmentalist who was severely injured by North Dakota law enforcement during a protest over the Dakota Access pipeline, finding the officers are entitled to immunity and her claims of 14th Amendment violations do not meet a "shocks the conscience" threshold.

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Ukrainian Firms Say Russia's Certiorari Bid Is Dead In Blasket

By Caroline Simson

Ukrainian power and gas companies looking to enforce some $242 million in arbitral awards against Russia are rebutting the country's argument that recent briefing from the Trump administration supports its certiorari petition, in which Moscow looks to challenge a D.C. Circuit decision rejecting its sovereign immunity defense.

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Ellenoff, Morgan Lewis Lead NuCube's $500M Go-Public Deal

By Elaine Briseño

Nuclear technology business NuCube Energy Inc., valued at $500 million, announced Thursday that it will become a publicly listed company through its merger with blank check company Launch Two Acquisition Corp., in a deal steered by Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP and Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP.

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Peabody Hit With Investor Suit Over Mine Production Delay

By Sydney Price

Peabody Energy Corp. was hit with a proposed shareholder class action Thursday alleging it concealed the production issues that prevented the company's Australian coal mine from reaching full operational capacity by the first quarter of 2026.

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White & Case Leads Aerospace Parts Biz's Upsized $919M IPO

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Aerospace engine maker DPC Holdings, known as Doncasters Group, hit the public markets on Thursday after raising $919 million in its upsized initial public offering.

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Okla. Reforms Will Curb Oil, Gas Royalty Litigation Risk

Recent amendments to Oklahoma's Production Revenue Standards Act — the most comprehensive in decades — raise the stakes for true noncompliance with the state's oil and gas royalty payment framework, while offering operators clearer rules, defined interest boundaries and predictable exits from prolonged suspense situations, say attorneys at GableGotwals.

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Brief Iran Sanctions Pause Will Most Benefit Non-US Cos.

Due to its short duration, the Office of Foreign Assets Control’s recently issued general license easing Iran sanctions will mostly benefit companies with preexisting commercial relationships involving Iranian petroleum, and is unlikely to mitigate overcompliance and de-risking behavior by U.S. and foreign financial institutions, says Michelle Roberts at Berliner Corcoran.

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Series

Moshing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Entering a mosh pit is much like entering the practice of law — it is difficult, you have to know both the written and unwritten rules, and conduct yourself according to the expectations of each community, says Christopher Deubert at Constangy Brooks.

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Groombridge Wu Tops Milbank Pay Scale For Associates

By Kevin Penton

Groombridge Wu Baughman & Stone LLP is the latest firm to top the pay scale for associates announced earlier this month by Milbank LLP, with attorneys set to earn as much as $470,000.

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Senate Confirming Judges Faster Than In Trump's 1st Term

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate has confirmed 45 judges in the second Trump term, outpacing the rate of his first administration, Senate Republicans announced on Thursday.

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Attys Urged To Challenge Clients Who Demand AI Research

By Aaron Keller

A Connecticut federal judge urged attorneys during a Thursday sanctions hearing to push back against clients who demand lawyers use generative artificial intelligence tools to conduct legal research, saying the technology is no substitute for professional judgment and discretion because it "aims to please" and can misstate the law.

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Lack Of Evidence Sinks Insurance Fraud Case, Atty Says

By Emily Sawicki

A Louisiana law firm and lawyer found guilty of criminal conspiracy and wire fraud for staging vehicle crashes as part of a scheme to defraud insurance carriers and trucking companies are seeking acquittal or a new trial, arguing that federal prosecutors failed to support their claims with evidence.

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SCOTUSblog Founder Goldstein Blasts 'Inflated' DOJ Tax Math

By Jared Foretek

Convicted SCOTUSblog founder Tom Goldstein and federal prosecutors are clashing again over their dramatically divergent sentencing recommendations, with the defense accusing the government of presenting a "one-dimensional caricature" of the famed lawyer in seeking an eight-year sentence, and prosecutors accusing him of potentially deleting "secret chats" with his gambling backers.

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Feds Say Would-Be Kavanaugh Assassin Was Let Off Easy

By Nadia Dreid

Both federal prosecutors and a Stephen Miller-founded public interest group believe that a Maryland federal judge let a woman accused of trying to kill U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh off too easy because of her gender identity and want the Fourth Circuit to order resentencing.

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Quinn Emanuel Says 3M Fee Proposal Undervalues Its Work

By Carolina Bolado

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP has objected to a special master's recommendation on the allocation of common benefit fees in the $6 billion settlement that ended multidistrict litigation against 3M over allegedly faulty combat earplugs, saying the amount doesn't value the "length, extent and impact" of the firm's work.

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