The First Circuit has upheld two-year prison terms and nearly $17 million in forfeiture for a former Massachusetts police officer and his brother after they admitted to bribing employees of a utility ratepayer-funded energy savings program administrator to steer $36 million in contracts their way.
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TOP NEWS

1st Circ. Backs Bribe Sentences For Brothers Turned 'Crooks'

By Chris Villani

The First Circuit has upheld two-year prison terms and nearly $17 million in forfeiture for a former Massachusetts police officer and his brother after they admitted to bribing employees of a utility ratepayer-funded energy savings program administrator to steer $36 million in contracts their way.

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Trump Orders 100% Pharma Tariff, Modifies Metals Duties

By Dylan Moroses

Later this year, the U.S. will impose 100% tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals, but drug companies could qualify for reduced tariff rates as low as zero if they agree to invest domestically and enter most-favored-nation drug-pricing agreements with the government, according to an executive order President Donald Trump signed Thursday.

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Feds Say Clean Air Act Nullifies Calif. Truck Emissions Regs

By Linda Chiem

The federal government and heavy-duty truck manufacturers have asked a California federal court to stop the state's "brazen defiance of federal law" and its efforts to strong-arm manufacturers into complying with stringent emissions standards, lest they be shut out from the market and face stiff penalties.

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Groups Say Feds' Gulf Species Exemption Flouted Process

By Ganesh Setty

Environmental conservation groups have sued a committee of top federal officials that waived Endangered Species Act requirements for oil and gas activities in the Gulf of Mexico, alleging the so-called "God Squad" violated key procedural safeguards.

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Property Co. Not Liable To Investors In $40M Fraud Suit

By Sydney Price

A group of investors were told by a Tennessee federal judge that they cannot claim that a property holding company is liable for debts to investors under state statute in a suit accusing a purported green energy outfit and its executives of using promises of extravagant returns to induce investments.

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POLICY & REGULATION

Brief

ITC Says Chinese Anodes Aren't Harming US Producers

By Jack McLoone

Subsidized Chinese anodes sold into the U.S. at unfair prices aren't harming domestic industry, the U.S. International Trade Commission said Thursday, blocking the U.S. Department of Commerce from issuing duty orders.

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OIL AND GAS

Ownership Limbo Spurs Stay Bid In $380M PetroSaudi Fight

By Joyce Hanson

A PetroSaudi unit has urged a California federal court to continue its stay in litigation by the U.S. government over a $380 million arbitral award purportedly tied to funds embezzled from Malaysia, saying company control remains in limbo in the Cayman Islands and Barbados.

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UTILITIES AND POWER

Power Co. Claims Ex-Worker At Rival Copied More Than 1,100 Files

By José Luis Martínez

A mobile power generation company sued one of its former managers in Texas federal court, saying he copied more than 1,100 files from his work computer and later accessed some of them while working at a competitor.

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RENEWABLES

TotalEnergies, Masdar Launch $2.2B Asia Renewables Venture

By Al Barbarino

TotalEnergies and the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Co. said Thursday that they have agreed to establish a $2.2 billion 50/50 joint venture that will merge their onshore renewable energy activities in nine countries across Asia.

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California Agency Wants SunPower Tax Issue Out Of Ch. 11

By Alex Wittenberg

California's Department of Tax and Fee Administration has asked a Delaware bankruptcy judge to abstain from hearing a tax audit dispute in solar panel company SunPower's Chapter 11 case, saying the matter should be handled in a state administrative forum.

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PEOPLE

Amazon Mulls $9B Globalstar Buy, Plus More Rumors

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Amazon is considering an acquisition of satellite company Globalstar in a $9 billion deal, cosmetics giant Estee Lauder is in talks to merge with Spanish beauty firm Puig in a deal that would create a $40 billion beauty giant, and private equity behemoth Apollo is in discussions to acquire Atlantic Aviation from KKR in a $10 billion deal.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

Unused Nuke Licenses Offer Shortcut For New Reactor Builds

While much has been done to accelerate the deployment of new nuclear generation, a number of still-valid licenses issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for reactors that have not yet been built represent an unutilized resource for project developers looking to start construction quickly, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

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Series

Ultramarathons Make Me A Better Lawyer

Completing a 100-mile ultramarathon was tougher, more humbling and more rewarding than I ever imagined, and the experience highlighted how long-distance running has sharpened my ability to adapt to the evolving nature of antitrust law and strengthened my resolve to handle demanding, unforeseen challenges, says Dan Oakes at Axinn.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

Bondi Out As Attorney General After Contentious Time At DOJ

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump announced on Thursday Attorney General Pam Bondi will be leaving her post. 

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Goldstein Allowed To Move Out After Marriage Falls Apart

By Jared Foretek

A Maryland federal judge on Thursday allowed SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein to relocate for the duration of his home confinement, after Goldstein's attorneys said his marriage had fallen apart and it no longer "makes sense" for Goldstein and his wife to share a residence.

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Raskin Blasts DOJ Bid To Shield Attys From State Bar Probes

By Courtney Bublé

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, said Thursday the U.S. Department of Justice's endeavor to preempt state bar investigations of department attorneys is a "get out of jail free" card.

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DLA Piper, Vax Refuser Reach Deal To End Religious Bias Suit

By Patrick Hoff

DLA Piper has struck a deal to wrap up a Christian former employee's lawsuit claiming he was fired for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine because of his religious beliefs, an Illinois federal judge said Thursday.

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Feds Say Habeas Ruling Could Spur More 'Illegal Orders'

By Jared Foretek

The Trump administration has asked the Fourth Circuit to reverse a district ruling that upheld a standing order from Maryland federal judges barring immediate removal or transfer of immigrant detainees, arguing the ruling sets a dangerous precedent for district court standing orders.

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Schneider Wallace Fights Uphill For Bigger Cut Of $75M Fees

By Bonnie Eslinger

A California federal magistrate judge appeared skeptical Thursday about Schneider Wallace Cottrell Kim LLP's bid to increase its cut of a $75.4 million fee award for representing plaintiffs in a $228.5 million Sutter Health antitrust deal, saying lead counsel Constantine Cannon LLP's allocation of $1.4 million to Schneider Wallace seems fair.

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Puerto Rico Bankruptcy Stymies Paul Weiss, ACLU Fee Bids

By Carolyn Muyskens

American Civil Liberties Union and Paul Weiss attorneys who successfully eased restrictions on voting by mail in Puerto Rico during the COVID-19 pandemic cannot collect fees for their work because they were discharged in Puerto Rico's bankruptcy proceeding, the First Circuit has ruled.

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Process Server ABC Legal Inks $2.5M Deal Over Cyber Breach

By Ben Adlin

Seattle-based ABC Legal Services LLC, which bills itself as the nation's largest network of legal process servers, would pay $2.5 million under a tentative deal to settle workers' putative class action claiming a 2024 cyberattack exposed their personal information, the plaintiffs told a Washington federal court Wednesday.

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Roundup

UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Laura Stewart Liberty

The past week in London has seen data giant Sportrader face action from software company Altenar over alleged market abuse, Mexican billionaire Ricardo Pliego sue a man who allegedly defrauded him out of $415 million, and Warner Bros. bring a copyright claim against a YouTuber who leaked set footage of the upcoming Harry Potter series. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K. 

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COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

AB Volvo

ABC Legal Services Inc.

AXA XL Ltd.

Amazon.com Inc.

American Airlines Group Inc.

American Civil Liberties Union

Apollo Global Management LLC

Atlantic Aviation

BAE Systems PLC

Ballard Partners Inc.

CLEAResult Consulting Inc.

Center for Biological Diversity Inc.

Clinique Laboratories LLC

Cottrell Inc.

Daimler AG

Daimler Truck Holding AG

Deere & Co.

Dnata

Earthjustice

Federalist Society

Future Energy Group

Globalstar Inc.

Google LLC

Home Box Office Inc.

Johnson Controls International PLC

Kroll LLC

Lendlease Corp.

Liberty Mutual Insurance Group

LinkedIn Corp.

Lowe's Cos. Inc.

Macquarie Infrastructure Corp.

Mediterranean Shipping Co. SA

Meggitt PLC

Meta Platforms Inc.

National Grid PLC

Natural Resources Defense Council

Panasonic Corp.

Sierra Club

Space Exploration Technologies Corp.

Sportradar Group AG

SunPower Corporation

Sutter Health

Tesla Inc.

The Estee Lauder Cos. Inc.

The Home Depot Inc.

Trafigura Group Pte. Ltd.

United Nations Commission on International Trade Law

Vitol Inc.

Volkswagen AG

Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.

Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

X Energy LLC

YouTube Inc.

LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Adams Duerk

Akerman LLP

Astraea Group Ltd.

Axinn Veltrop

Bartko Pavia

Birketts LLP

Bryan Cave

Cafferty Clobes

Campbell Johnston

Capsticks Solicitors LLP

Clement & Murphy

Clifford Chance

Clyde & Co

Constantine Cannon

Continental PLLC

DLA Piper

DWF LLP

Doyle Clayton

Federman & Sherwood

Fieldfisher

Geradin Partners

Gibson Dunn

Herzfeld Suetholz

Hinckley Allen

Hunton Andrews

Illovsky Gates

Jones Day

K&L Gates

Kobre & Kim

LK Law Pty Ltd

Latham & Watkins

Liang Ly

Mathys & Squire

McDonald Hopkins

McNaul Ebel

Mehdi Firm

Much Shelist

Munger Tolles

Ogden Murphy

Patrick Beard

Paul Weiss

Peters & Peters Solicitors

Reynolds Porter

Richards Layton

Schneider Wallace

Selendy Gay

Stephenson Harwood

Strauss Borrelli

Todd & Weld

Troutman

Ward Hadaway

White & Case

Wiggin LLP

WilmerHale

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

California Air Resources Board

California Department of Justice

Companies House

European Union

Executive Office of the President

Federal Bureau of Investigation

HM Revenue & Customs

International Trade Administration

International Trade Commission

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

New York Attorney General's Office

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

U.S. Army

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

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California

U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware

U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

U.S. Department of Agriculture

U.S. Department of Commerce

U.S. Department of Defense

U.S. Department of Energy

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of the Interior

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 Maryland

U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey

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

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee

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

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

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

U.S. Supreme Court

UK High Court