Analysis

High Court's Cisco Ruling Is A Win For Multinational Cos.

By Y. Peter Kang

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision Tuesday clearing Cisco in an Alien Tort Statute suit alleging it helped the Chinese government violate international law is a win for companies that do business in regions with possible human rights issues, experts tell Law360.

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Stock Bought Too Late For Breakup Fee Suit, Judge Says

By Katryna Perera

A New York federal judge has dismissed an investor suit claiming that the top brass of the sponsor of a blank check company unfairly claimed a $29 million settlement despite missing a deadline to merge with another company, finding that the investor purchased shares after the breakup fee of the failed merger was disclosed.

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Justices Clear Path For Exxon Damages Claim In Cuba Case

By Caroline Simson

The U.S. Supreme Court found Tuesday that a federal law allowing U.S. victims of property seizures by the Cuban government to seek damages automatically abrogates the sovereign immunity of state-owned entities targeted in such cases, clearing a path for Exxon Mobil Corp.'s bid for some $1 billion in damages.

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Colo. Justices Uphold Antero's $215M Fraud Win

By Benjamin Morse

A doctrine limiting tort claims over contract losses did not bar a fraud claim tied to a fracking wastewater treatment project, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled Tuesday, affirming a more than $215 million judgment for Antero.

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Fla. Judge Won't Toss Suit Over $300M Guyana Fuel Deal

By Carolina Bolado

A Florida judge on Tuesday denied Jones Walker LLP's request to exit a lawsuit accusing the firm and one of its partners of using confidential information from a client to create an entity to compete with the client for a $300 million fuel agreement with the government of Guyana.

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EU Parliament Panels Advance Mexico Trade Agreement

By Jack McLoone

Two European Parliament committees signed off Tuesday on a reworked trade deal with Mexico that would remove nearly all tariffs on European agricultural goods imported into the country, setting up a full vote by Parliament.

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US Blocks WTO Appellate Body Selection Process Again

By Dylan Moroses

The World Trade Organization failed again to begin the process of selecting members to the appellate body designed to settle disputes over WTO decisions, marking the 98th time that the initiative has been blocked by U.S.-led efforts, according to a news release Tuesday.

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States Challenge Arctic Leasing Over Birds, Climate Change

By Crystal Owens

Fourteen states are backing challenges to the Trump administration's decision to open up oil and gas leasing on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, telling the court that the seismic exploration will harm migratory birds and increase greenhouse gas emissions that already contribute to climate change.

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Venezuela Found Liable For $148M In Botched Charter Deal

By Caroline Simson

Venezuela has been hit with a lawsuit in Washington, D.C., federal court by shipowners that won some $148 million in arbitral awards after the country refused to return oil tankers that had been chartered by a subsidiary of the state-owned PDVSA.

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Green Groups Drop Pipeline Permit Appeal After Stay Is Refused

By Abigail Harrison

Environmental groups' challenge to a discharge permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for work on a natural gas pipeline stretching across several Eastern states was voluntarily dismissed Monday at the Fourth Circuit.

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Feds Say Consultant Shouldn't Get FARA Verdict Erased

By Ganesh Setty

The U.S. government told a Florida federal court there was "abundant" evidence to convict a political consultant of knowingly failing to register as a foreign agent as she helped draft a $50 million contract involving a former congressman and Venezuela's state-owned oil enterprise.

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$8.5M Utility Service Fraud Nets 7.5-Year Sentence In Chicago

By Lauraann Wood

A Chicago man received more than seven years in federal prison Tuesday for leading a roughly $8.5 million fraud scheme in which he used false identifying information to sign thousands of city residents up to receive gas and electric services they didn't know were fraudulent.

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Spanish Soccer Team Shielded From $47M Arbitration Fight

By Alex Lawson

A D.C. federal judge has shut down an energy investor's bid to subpoena information regarding Spain's national soccer team as part of its effort to collect a $47 million arbitration award it secured in a dispute against the Spanish government.

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Hertz Investor Class Certified After $10M EV Demand Suit Deal

By Elaine Briseño

A Florida federal judge certified a class of Hertz investors following a $10 million deal to resolve claims that the rental company overstated consumer demand for its electric vehicles and later tried to offload the cars amid a $200 million earnings hit.

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Energy Fuels, VAC Ink $1.9B Magnet Deal Steered By 4 Firms

By Al Barbarino

Energy Fuels Inc. said Tuesday that it has agreed to acquire Vacuumschmelze GmbH & Co. KG and Ara VAC TopCo US LLC, collectively known as VAC, from Ara Partners for about $1.9 billion in cash and stock. 

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Colo. Judge Says Mine Operator's FLSA Suit Can Proceed

By Rachel Konieczny

A Colorado federal judge declined to toss a proposed collective action that alleged a Colorado coal mining company failed to pay its hourly employees for overtime worked, ruling Tuesday that a mine operator alleged sufficient facts for the lawsuit to survive.

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Clifford Chance Adds Ex-V&E Debt Finance Atty In Houston

By Matt Perez

Clifford Chance LLP announced on Monday the hiring of a former Vinson & Elkins LLP attorney as a finance and derivatives partner in its Houston office.

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What NERC Reliability Guideline Means For Large Loads

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation's new reliability guideline — which addresses issues associated with large loads like data centers, cryptocurrency mining facilities and factories — is nonbinding, but hints at possible future expansion of reliability obligations for large load owners, operators, developers and equipment providers, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

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Drawing A Line Between Settlement Pressure And Extortion

U.S. v. Luo, pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, may force courts to address anew when settlement negotiations become criminal extortion, particularly in the age of easily fabricated digital evidence, says attorney Denis Kiely.

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How 3 Courts Are Approaching AI Adoption

By Emily Sawicki

The rules surrounding artificial intelligence experimentation in courts run the gamut from court systems offering proprietary tools and training to unwritten policies that essentially amount to don't ask, don't tell.

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Analysis

With Data And AI, Whistleblowers Set Off An FCA Tidal Wave

By Phillip Bantz

Whistleblowers are increasingly using artificial intelligence to comb through public data in search of potential False Claims Act cases, unleashing a flood of new complaints that are shaking up white collar defense and government enforcement efforts while subjecting more companies to potentially false allegations, experts say.

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Conn. Justices Threaten Sanctions For AI Errors

By Andrea Keckley

The Connecticut Supreme Court has threatened to sanction GLG Law LLC and one of its attorneys for submitting documents in two cases "that misrepresented the law through the use of generative artificial intelligence," according to a Tuesday order that summoned them to appear in court next month.

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Atty DQ Over Inadvertent Doc Disclosure Overturned

By Y. Peter Kang

A California state appeals court has upended the disqualification of defense counsel in a sexual battery suit, saying documents undermining the case that were accidentally produced via a Dropbox link were not privileged.

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DOJ Nominee Questioned About Deleted Social Media Posts

By Courtney Bublé

A nominee for a top U.S. Department of Justice position, who is a real estate attorney turned tech entrepreneur, came under fire on Wednesday for past social media posts that he's now deleted.

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Booker, Cassidy Press DOJ On Trump Immunity Deal

By Courtney Bublé

Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Cory Booker, D-N.J., wrote to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Wednesday expressing "serious concerns" about the alleged immunity for President Donald Trump, his family and businesses in the controversial settlement he reached with the IRS.

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