3rd Circ. Questions Claims Of Bias In $6B Citgo Sale

By Caroline Simson

A Third Circuit panel appeared skeptical during more than two hours of oral arguments on Wednesday that an order greenlighting the nearly $6 billion sale of Citgo to satisfy billions of dollars of Venezuelan debt should be overturned because of the appearance of bias.

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Ex-Holtec CFO Wins $2.1M Verdict On Whistleblower Claim

By George Woolston

A New Jersey state jury on Wednesday found that nuclear services company Holtec International violated the state's whistleblower law when it fired its chief financial officer days after he objected to what he believed were false and misleading statements in a document meant for a potential investor, awarding him $2.1 million in economic damages.

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EU Says Trump's Russia Sanctions Waiver Weakens Pressure

By Dylan Moroses

The European Commission said President Donald Trump's executive action waiving tariffs and economic sanctions against Russia last week was "regrettable" and would impede international pressures to end the country's war with Ukraine.

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Feds' Latest Wind Permit Move May 'Blow Up' Permitting Deal

By Gautama Mehta

The Trump administration has again asked a federal court to let it reevaluate a permit issued for a proposed offshore wind project, a move that a co-architect of U.S. Senate permitting legislation said could derail the bipartisan bill.

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Forced Labor Tariff Lacks Justification, Biz Group Tells Court

By Dylan Moroses

Near-worldwide tariffs deployed by the U.S. government to address imports produced with forced labor should be considered unlawful given that the underlying report for those measures fails to meet statutory requirements, a coalition of small businesses told the U.S. Court of International Trade.

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US Steel Says Insurers Must Cover Utah Mill Cleanup Costs

By Hope Patti

U.S. Steel said its excess insurers must cover millions of dollars in mounting costs to investigate and clean up contamination at a long-closed steel mill in Utah, telling a Pennsylvania state court that several carriers have refused to pay out under their policies.

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Data Center Co. Looks To Toss Investors' Gas Wells Suit

By Isaac Monterose

A data center infrastructure company told a Texas federal court to toss a proposed securities fraud class action that accused the company of damaging its stock value because of a hidden gas well transfer deal and a fraud lawsuit filed by New Mexico.

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Vendor Says Nonprofit Pulled Millions In Mass. Energy Funds

By Julie Manganis

A Massachusetts heating and cooling contractor says in a state court lawsuit that it committed millions of dollars toward boosting participation from low-income homeowners in a ratepayer-funded energy efficiency program, only to have the nonprofit agency administering the program unilaterally change the terms of its agreement to reallocate funds and contracts to other companies.

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Wind Groups Say DOD Continues To Freeze Project Reviews

By Tom Lotshaw

Renewable energy backers asked an Oregon federal judge to enforce an injunction that blocked the U.S. Department of Defense from suspending reviews of proposed wind energy projects, arguing it has continued to miss deadlines and maintain an unlawful freeze on project reviews.

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Calif. Man Sues Rivian Over Cannabis Test Firing, Wages

By Mike Curley

A Sacramento man is suing electric vehicle maker Rivian LLC in California state court, alleging he was wrongly fired after a cannabis test despite not being impaired or otherwise using cannabis at work, and that the company has not fully paid out his wages.

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Blank Rome Lands 4 Hogan Lovells Commodities Lawyers

By Tracey Read

Blank Rome LLP has brought on a four-attorney, New York-based commodities team from Hogan Lovells Cadwalader that advises clients in the financial services and energy industries.

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EPA Rollback Puts Power Plant GHG Rules In Flux

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recent actions on power plant greenhouse gas emissions create immediate implications for power plant operators and long-term regulatory uncertainty, while raising questions about the relationship between federal and state approaches to climate-related litigation, say attorneys at Van Ness Feldman.

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New Weil-Willkie Domains Add To Merger Speculation

By Marialuisa Taddia

Two domain names that combine the names of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP and Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP have been registered, fueling speculation about a potential merger between the two prominent Wall Street law firms.

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Bonus Spotlight

Hueston Hennigan Bumps Clerkship Bonus To $205K

By Lynn LaRowe

Trial boutique Hueston Hennigan is offering a $205,000 bonus to lawyers who have completed one or more federal clerkships, the firm confirmed Thursday.

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'Grave Errors': 5th Circ. Boots Judge After AI 'Botch Job'

By Jeff Overley

A Mississippi federal judge's careless use of artificial intelligence tools led to "sloppy edicts" riddled with "falsehoods and fabrications," the Fifth Circuit held in a Thursday night opinion removing the judge from litigation over an anti-DEI law in the Magnolia State because of his "extraordinarily grave errors."

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Texas Judge Probe Shows Lack Of Mental Impairment Process

By Jack Karp

Fifth Circuit officials have done a reasonable job of handling a rare situation involving a Texas federal judge who appears to be undergoing a mental health crisis, but the episode highlights that a more standardized way of dealing with federal judges experiencing mental impairment needs to be established, experts and scholars say.

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Jackson Walker Hits Back At Fee Clawback Sanction Move

By Vince Sullivan

Law firm Jackson Walker said Wednesday that it should not be sanctioned for failing to bring to a Texas federal judge's attention additional cases involving an undisclosed romantic relationship between a bankruptcy judge and one of its attorneys because the U.S. Trustee already investigated those cases and didn't take action.

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GOP Reps. Seek Probe Of Fla. Judge's Sanctions Order

By Courtney Bublé

Top Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee asked the Judicial Conference Thursday to investigate a Florida federal judge for potential misconduct with an order she issued in the case involving the leak of President Donald Trump's tax returns.

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JPMorgan, Ex-Frank Execs Clash Over $2.1M In Legal Fees

By Jarek Rutz

JPMorgan Chase & Co. faced renewed demands in the Delaware Chancery Court on Thursday to pay about $2.1 million in withheld legal fees for convicted Frank founder Charlie Javice and former executive Olivier Amar, as their lawyers accused the bank of using repeated billing objections to delay funding for their criminal defenses.

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Roundup MDL Atty Fund 'Cries Out' For Review, 9th Circ. Told

By Dorothy Atkins

Plaintiffs' firms urged the Ninth Circuit to reverse a ruling Thursday requiring them to contribute 8% of their recovery fees to a common benefit fund in multidistrict litigation over Monsanto's Roundup weed killer, arguing the judge ignored a special master's recommendation and the issue "cries out for some appellate supervision."

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