DC Circ. Backs Nuclear Plant Enviro Review Rules

By Keith Goldberg

The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday upheld the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's updated rules for renewing nuclear power plant licenses, rejecting arguments from antinuclear groups that the rules don't adequately account for climate change risks.

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Norway's Var Energi To Combine With BlueNord In $1.3B Deal

By Al Barbarino

Norway's Var Energi said Tuesday that it has agreed to acquire BlueNord in a deal valuing the Danish-focused oil and gas producer at about 12.8 billion Norwegian crowns ($1.3 billion), creating what Var said will be Europe's largest independent oil and gas producer.

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18 State AGs Sue EPA Over Hydrofluorocarbons Rollback

By Craig Clough

Eighteen Democratic attorneys general and the city of New York filed a petition with the D.C. Circuit Tuesday over a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule they argue will weaken federal limits on hydrofluorocarbons, which are refrigerants used in air conditioning and cooling systems.

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Sen. Warner Unveils 4-Part AI Guardrail Package

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., proposed legislation Tuesday that would create guardrails on artificial intelligence and impose disclosure requirements on data centers' demands on power and water infrastructure and effects on the environment.

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Jordan Secures 10% Forced Labor Tariff Rate With US Deal

By Dylan Moroses

The U.S. and Jordan signed a trade agreement Tuesday that would lower non-tariff trade barriers on U.S. exports in exchange for a U.S. commitment to impose a 10% tariff rate on imports from the kingdom when new duties to address goods produced with forced labor take effect.

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High Court Ruling Doesn't Impact Pipeline Fight, 9th Circ. Told

By Keith Goldberg

California and environmental groups have told the Ninth Circuit that a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision clarifying federal arbitration jurisdictional lines has no bearing on their lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's assertion of jurisdiction over an in-state oil pipeline system.

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Wash. Tribe, Enviro Org. Say FERC Hydro Delay Imperils Sites

By Crystal Owens

A Washington tribe and an environmental group are asking the Ninth Circuit to deny a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission bid to hold a challenge against the agency's issuance of a hydroelectric license in abeyance, arguing that it won't stop the project from moving toward construction that will destroy resources.

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Burnham Removes Tax On Electric Bills To Ease Living Costs

By Josh White

Electricity bills will be freed from value-added tax to relieve financial pressure on British households and small businesses this winter, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Tuesday.

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Heritage Coal Trustee Says Ex-Owners Hid Fraud

By Rick Archer

The liquidating trustee for Heritage Coal and the company that acquired it has sued the mining firm's former owner in Delaware bankruptcy court, accusing them of costing the new owner millions of dollars by concealing that they had been secretly shipping low-grade coal to Heritage's largest customers for years.

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A&O Shearman Hires Davis Polk Restructuring Pro In NY

By Tracey Read

Allen Overy Shearman Sterling has hired a former Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP counsel as a restructuring partner in New York.

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USDA Rule Would Broaden Foreign Co. Reporting Burden

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's recently proposed overhaul of foreign landholder reporting obligations would expand covered agricultural uses, mandate more detailed online disclosures and toughen penalties, so organizations must proactively reassess U.S. land interests and prepare for a more stringent compliance regime, say attorneys at Skadden.

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High Court Rulings Could Alter Agency Strategy For Cos.

The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decisions in Trump v. Slaughter and Trump v. Cook mark major turning points in the law of independent agencies and in how regulated companies should think about federal enforcement, rulemaking and agency-facing strategy, say attorneys at Holtzman Vogel.

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Holland & Knight Hit With $1.2B Malpractice Suit

By Madison Arnold

A real estate firm is accusing Holland & Knight LLP and three attorneys of malpractice in a new complaint filed in Florida state court and is seeking up to $1.2 billion in damages after more than 30 states opened investigations into the company's practices.

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Co. Turned Away Simpson Thacher's Deal Meeting, Jury Told

By Cara Salvatore

A retired Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP partner who handled the fundraising round alleged to have destroyed Patriot National Inc. testified in a Florida state malpractice trial Wednesday that the insurance services company waved off his attempt to present details to the board.

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Brief

Pillsbury Data Breach Suit Voluntarily Dismissed

By Matt Perez

A proposed class action against Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP over a data breach last year has been voluntarily dismissed by the named plaintiffs, following a granted motion to stay in April to discuss mediation.

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DLA Piper Says Deception, Not Bias, Cost Palestinian Atty Job

By Grace Elletson

DLA Piper urged an Illinois federal judge to toss a Palestinian attorney's suit claiming the firm revoked a job offer out of discrimination, arguing it rescinded the offer because she concealed allegations that she assaulted someone at a protest.

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DC Bar Leaders Say DOJ Ethics Suit Encourages Misconduct

By Emily Sawicki

Washington, D.C., attorney regulators continue to garner support in their effort to toss a Justice Department lawsuit over alleged "weaponizing" of executive branch lawyer discipline, with D.C. bar organizations, scores of legal scholars and more than 500 former DOJ attorneys backing the disciplinary authorities.

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Mich. Gets Judge With Blue Slips In 1st For Trump Admin

By Courtney Bublé

The U.S. Senate voted 62-36 on Wednesday to confirm Michael Martin, a longtime federal prosecutor, to the Eastern District of Michigan and Benjamin Flowers, former solicitor general of Ohio, to the Sixth Circuit.

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DOL IG Says Info-Sharing Pacts Lacked Safeguards

By Irene Spezzamonte

U.S. Department of Labor Inspector General Anthony P. D'Esposito testified Wednesday before a U.S. House subcommittee that during the Biden administration, the department shared confidential information with plaintiffs' attorneys without notifying the Wage and Hour Division or the Employee Benefits Security Administration.

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Gov't Attys May Face Broader Duty To Report Misconduct

By Alison Knezevich

Attorneys representing the government could face "more demanding" obligations to disclose misconduct by people within their client organizations than attorneys representing private entities, according to an ethics opinion issued Wednesday by the American Bar Association.

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Retired Judges Rip Bid To Ban Foreign-Born Federal Judges

By Courtney Bublé

A group of 58 retired federal judges, appointed by presidents of both parties, on Wednesday came out strongly against recent proposals from Republican lawmakers that would require federal judges to be natural-born U.S. citizens and relinquish any citizenship that is not of the United States.

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US Marshals Can't Make Immigration Arrests In DC Court

By Rae Ann Varona

A D.C. federal judge Wednesday refused to toss a lawsuit from a certified class of immigrants challenging immigration arrests by U.S. marshals in D.C. Superior Court, declaring that the marshals lack authority and necessary training for the arrests.

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Securities Class Action Deals On Target To Hit 6-Year High

By Katryna Perera

The value of class action settlements is on track to reach a six-year high of $4.4 billion, fueled in part by a handful of "mega settlements" and other high-dollar deals, a Cornerstone Research report released Wednesday said. 

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