Judge Pares Suit Challenging Empire Wind Project

By Keith Goldberg

A D.C. federal judge has trimmed a lawsuit contesting federal approvals for a wind farm off the New York and New Jersey coasts while preserving claims that the government wrongly allowed the project to harm migratory bottlenose dolphin populations.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Brazil Files Complaint At WTO Against US Tariffs

By Dylan Moroses

The Brazilian government filed a complaint at the World Trade Organization against U.S. tariffs placed on Brazilian goods, arguing that the measures run afoul of global trade rules, it said Monday evening. 

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

DC Circ. Backs EPA's Pollution Review Regulation Process

By Jared Foretek

A D.C. Circuit panel sided with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in its fight with environmental groups challenging rules for determining whether modifications to major pollution sources trigger new review, holding Tuesday the rule is neither inconsistent with the Clean Air Act nor arbitrary and capricious.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Commerce Establishes Tariff Offsets For Domestic Engines

By Jack McLoone

Domestic manufacturers of engines for cars and medium- and heavy-duty trucks are now eligible for tariff offsets for sectoral duties placed on imported parts, the U.S. Department of Commerce said Tuesday.

Notice attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Climate Change Suit Must Proceed, Boulder Tells High Court

By Keith Goldberg

The city and county of Boulder, Colorado, have urged the U.S. Supreme Court to let stand a Colorado Supreme Court decision allowing their climate change tort against Exxon Mobil and Suncor Energy to proceed, arguing that the justices shouldn't short-circuit the state court proceedings.

Brief attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

3 Firms Steer $1.5B Apollo Investment In Keppel Fund

By Al Barbarino

Apollo Global Management has agreed to invest $1.5 billion into an offshore energy fund managed by Singapore-based Keppel Ltd., with Latham & Watkins LLP advising Apollo-managed funds, Milbank LLP serving as investor counsel, and Clifford Chance LLP representing Keppel. 

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Judge Bars Suit Over Alaska's Approved Land Transfers

By Gautama Mehta

A federal judge refused to stop the transfer of nearly 1.4 million acres of federal public lands to Alaska, ruling the state is immune to the bulk of a lawsuit seeking to restore environmental protections and prevent future mining and natural gas development.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

4 Firms Guide Meta, BlackRock's $14B Data Center Project

By Isaac Monterose

Meta and BlackRock are teaming up to develop a $14 billion, 1-gigawatt data center campus in El Paso, Texas, with guidance from Latham, Eversheds Sutherland, Kirkland and Milbank, the companies announced Tuesday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

 XAI, SpaceX Say Power Plant Noise Suit Claims Are 'Flawed'

By Rae Ann Varona

XAI and SpaceX urged a Mississippi federal court to throw out several claims in a proposed class action filed over allegedly intrusive noises coming out of a power plant the companies operate in a suburban neighborhood, saying the claims rest on "flawed legal theories" and don't warrant discovery.

Memorandum attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Like Milli Vanilli, Goldman FCPA Case Is A Ruse, Jury Told

By Stewart Bishop

The government's foreign bribery case accusing a former Goldman Sachs banker of paying off Ghanaian officials to secure a lucrative energy deal is a lot like Milli Vanilli, his lawyer told a New York jury Tuesday, arguing that much like lipsynced songs of the fake late-1980s-era pop duo, prosecutors' version of events is not what it appears to be.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

11th Circ. Weighs Waiver In $12.2M Solar Farm Coverage Case

By Kelcey Caulder

An Eleventh Circuit panel grappled Tuesday with whether Zurich American Insurance Co. should be freed from a $12.2 million verdict finding it shortchanged a Georgia solar farm's storm damage claim, with one judge seeming to side with the farm's argument that a waiver of a flood deductible was possible.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Brief

Commerce Mulls Duty Carveout For Off-Grid Solar Panels

By Dylan Moroses

The U.S. Department of Commerce will consider whether to remove certain off-grid, portable solar panels from the list of goods subject to countervailing and antidumping duties after receiving a request for review from a Canadian exporter, according to a notice published Tuesday.

Notice attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

NRC Proposal May Reshape Radiation Protection Framework

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s proposal to drop the long-standing requirement to keep radiation exposure "as low as reasonably achievable," alongside the U.S. Department of Energy's removal of ALARA from its own rules, suggests a broader federal reassessment of radiation protection policy, say attorneys at Womble Bond.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

What New USDA 'Beneficial Owner' Definition Means For Cos.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's recent pitch to add a new "beneficial owner" definition to its foreign-owned land reporting framework would overhaul how fund managers and joint venture participants report U.S. agricultural land interests, creating diligence risks as companies reassess governance rights and management structure, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

Proposed Rule attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Trader In BigLaw Deal-Tipping Scheme To Plead Guilty

By Chris Villani

A Florida resident is set to plead guilty to his alleged role in a sweeping scheme to trade on insider information about impending acquisitions that was stolen from major law firms, according to a court filing Tuesday.

Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Simpson Thacher Stock Work Hurt 2 Companies, Jury Told

By Madison Arnold

The chief financial officer for an insurance company told a Florida jury Tuesday that a stock drop for Patriot National Inc. — which is suing Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP for malpractice for allegedly putting together a shoddy securities offering — dramatically affected his own business as well.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

AT&T Whistleblower Told To Cut Facts From Ethics Case Filing

By Sue Reisinger

Former AT&T in-house counsel and whistleblower Theodore Marcus has been asked to delete part of his response to professional misconduct charges pending against him in Washington, D.C., because the filing allegedly contains privileged information.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

1st Circ. Asked To Save Mayer Brown $21M Fee Bid In RI Suit

By Linda Chiem

The American Trucking Associations told the First Circuit that its attorneys at Mayer Brown LLP reasonably justified their request for $21 million in fees and costs after securing "substantial" wins in long-running litigation over Rhode Island's truck tolling program, disputing a district court's determination that the trucking trade group wasn't actually a "prevailing party."

Brief attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Winston Taylor Seeks Sanction Against Ex-Client Hunter Biden

By Rae Ann Varona

Winston Taylor urged a D.C. state court on Monday to sanction its former client Hunter Biden in its legal bills collection suit, saying the former president's son destroyed Signal communications that would have proved he understood that he owes the law firm more than $50,000.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Court Is In Session Whenever A Judge Says It Is, 6th Circ. Told

By Susan Smiley

Court is wherever and whenever a judge says it is, counsel for a Detroit judge told a Sixth Circuit panel Tuesday, arguing that subjecting a student to a mock arrest and trial because she fell asleep during a field trip was within his jurisdiction.

Memorandum attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Senate Confirms Jay Clayton As National Intelligence Chief

By Madeline Lyskawa

The U.S. Senate voted Tuesday to confirm Jay Clayton as director of national intelligence, two weeks after Clayton, the former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, refused to answer who he thought won the 2020 election during his confirmation hearing.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Queens Defenders Head Gets 3.5 Years For Looting The Nonprofit

By Pete Brush

A Brooklyn federal judge on Tuesday sentenced the former director of the Queens Defenders to more than 3.5 years in prison after the longtime attorney admitted to a course of embezzlement that destroyed the group dedicated to legal services for the poor.

5 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »