Analysis

AI Land Use Fights Are Just Getting Started In Mass.

By Chris Villani

Some Massachusetts cities and towns are scrambling to update their zoning rules amid rising tensions over artificial intelligence data centers, with disputes expected to play out in the courts and on Beacon Hill in coming years.

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Analysis

4 Texas Supreme Court Oil & Gas Cases To Watch This Term

By Keith Goldberg

The new term of the Texas Supreme Court initially appears light on oil and gas litigation, but Lone Star State attorneys told Law360 there are still a handful of cases that could have broad implications for the industry.

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Ohio Justices Tee Up Data Center Vote In Another City

By Isaac Monterose

The Ohio Supreme Court will allow the residents of Trenton, Ohio, to vote in a special election for a proposed city charter amendment that will ban the construction of data centers in the city, which is similar to a recent Ohio high court decision that set up a potential data center vote.

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NextEra's $67B Deal Clears Vote Ahead Of Regulatory Hurdles

By Al Barbarino

The shareholders of Kirkland & Ellis LLP-advised NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy, advised by McGuireWoods LLP, have approved the companies' planned $67 billion merger, as regulatory scrutiny mounts at the state and federal levels.

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US Steel Pollution Class Has 'Unharmed' Members, Court Told

By Matthew Santoni

U.S. Steel wants to decertify a class of neighbors allegedly impacted by pollution from the Clairton Coke Works after a 2018 fire, arguing to a Pennsylvania state court judge Friday that testimony from class members who say they weren't affected should scuttle classwide treatment of a nuisance lawsuit.

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US Extends Trade Programs With African Countries, Haiti

By Jack McLoone

The government funding bill signed by President Donald Trump this week included extensions of U.S. trade agreements with African nations and Haiti through the end of 2028, locking in duty exemptions for broad swaths of products following bipartisan support.

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Judge Won't Drop Charges Against Adani's Co-Defendants Yet

By Katryna Perera

Five co-defendants in the federal government's dismissed securities fraud case against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani are still on the hook for bribery conspiracy and other charges after a New York federal judge denied the government's request to have the claims dropped, saying the government had not yet supplied a sufficient factual basis to support its dismissal request.

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Conn. AG Pans Ex-Utility GM's Bid To Keep Gov't Pension

By Corey Rothauser

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong has urged a state judge to revoke or sharply reduce the pension of a former Norwich utility chief convicted of misusing public funds on trips to the Kentucky Derby and a luxury West Virginia resort, arguing his crimes represented a serious betrayal of public trust.

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Ga. Landowners' Water Pollution Dispute Sent To Mediation

By Kelcey Caulder

Georgia property owners will mediate a dispute with land developers over claims that the developers polluted streams and a lake on their property during preparations for a solar farm, according to an order in federal court.

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Brief

Electric Co. And Zurich Settle $5M Airport Dispute

By Zach Dupont

An electric company that sought damages in Colorado state court over a contractor's decision to withhold over $5 million in payments for work completed in an expansion project at the Denver International Airport reached a settlement this week with four defendant insurers.

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Baker Botts Names New Energy, Infrastructure Leaders

By Lynn LaRowe

Baker Botts LLP announced Tuesday that it has appointed a group of longtime partners to leadership roles across practices central to the firm's energy and infrastructure work.

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ABA Law School Accrediting Arm Repeals Diversity Standard

By Emma Cueto and Andrea Keckley

The American Bar Association council responsible for law school accreditation voted Tuesday to eliminate its diversity and inclusion standard, the final step in a process that the council hopes will ensure it remains an accreditor recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

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Ex-DLA Piper Partner Must Face Claim He Raped Associate

By Lynn LaRowe

A Massachusetts state court has ruled it has jurisdiction over an assault and battery claim alleging a former DLA Piper partner raped a former Boston-based associate in Delaware, finding that purported incident was part of "a larger course of conduct encompassing multiple torts across several states, all circling around plaintiff's residence and work in Massachusetts."

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5th Circ. Backs Ax Of $125M Judgment Over Judge Friendship

By Mike Curley

A split Fifth Circuit panel Tuesday affirmed the vacatur of a trial by a magistrate judge that resulted in a $125 million judgment against Port of Lake Charles, finding the district court correctly found that the magistrate judge didn't fully disclose her 40-year, "close, multifaceted, and personal friendship" with IFG Port Holdings LLC's attorney.

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AG Blanche To Speak At GOP Midterm Convention

By Courtney Bublé

Attorney General Todd Blanche will speak at the Republican midterm convention this week in his "personal capacity."

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court this past week saw disputes involving a former NFL star and a $2.5 million solar venture, Morgan Stanley's role in Fox Corp.'s planned $22 billion acquisition of Roku Inc., and JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s effort to pause more than $20 million in legal-fee payments to former Frank executives.

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