A Massachusetts federal judge paused a suite of federal agency actions that renewable energy trade groups say have restricted wind and solar permitting, determining on Tuesday that the government did not adequately explain its actions and acted contrary to federal law.
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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 2026 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

Mass. Judge Freezes Trump Admin's Anti-Wind, Solar Orders

By Carolyn Muyskens

A Massachusetts federal judge paused a suite of federal agency actions that renewable energy trade groups say have restricted wind and solar permitting, determining on Tuesday that the government did not adequately explain its actions and acted contrary to federal law.

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DC Circ. Won't Ax US Bid To Seize Iranian Oil From 2 Tankers

By Madeline Lyskawa

The D.C. Circuit ruled Tuesday that the U.S. can proceed with seizing more than 700,000 barrels of crude oil from two tankers linked to Iran's state oil company, rejecting a Turkish company's attempt to assert ownership over the oil. 

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$210M Appeal Bond Should Be $25M, Oil Exec Tells 5th Circ.

By José Luis Martínez

The founder of Exxon-acquired company InterOil has asked the Fifth Circuit to approve a $25 million supersedeas bond as opposed to an amount exceeding $210 million due to a final judgment against him and his family.

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Texas Firm Seeks Immediate Appeal In $2.3M LNG Case

By Caroline Simson

A Texas infrastructure firm is urging a Massachusetts federal judge to allow it to immediately appeal her order refusing to vacate a $2.3 million arbitral award issued in a dispute stemming from a liquefied natural gas facility project, saying the order turns on certain controlling questions of law.

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HVAC Cos. Accused Of Price-Fixing, Manipulation

By Susan Smiley

Seven HVAC companies, including Rheem, Trane, Carrier, Lennox and Bosch, engaged in price-fixing and inventory manipulation using the COVID-19 pandemic as a cover, an HVAC contractor alleged in a civil antitrust suit filed in Michigan federal court.

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Texas Court Weighs If $42M Gas Trespass Verdict Is Time-Barred

By Spencer Brewer

A Texas appellate court wanted to know when the clock started ticking to file suit in a trespassing case involving an energy company that allegedly interfered with nearby wells by injecting toxic gas underground, asking Tuesday whether the nearly $42 million verdict against the energy company should stand.

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POLICY & REGULATION

Feds Say Arctic Lease Sale For Oil Drilling Begins In June

By Joyce Hanson

The U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management has announced that it will hold an oil and gas lease sale on the 1.56-million-acre Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, saying the bid opening for tracts will take place June 5.

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USTR Says Mexican Auto, Steel Tariffs Will Remain, Per Report

By Jack McLoone

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told Mexican business leaders that tariffs on the automotive and steel sectors will not be eliminated as part of renegotiations of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade deal, according to a news report Tuesday.

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3 Firms Guide $1.2B Semiconductor Equipment SPAC Deal

By Al Barbarino

U.S.-based semiconductor materials company Forge Nano said Tuesday it has agreed to combine with blank check company Archimedes Tech SPAC Partners II Co. in a deal that values Forge Nano at $1.2 billion.

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Watchdog Says Ex-Fla. Rep Used Straw Donors For Campaign

By David Minsky

A Washington, D.C.-based watchdog organization accused former Florida Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of improperly funding her 2022 reelection bid to the U.S. House of Representatives, saying she orchestrated a complex straw donor scheme to funnel $725,000 in Haitian "dark money" into her campaign. 

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OIL AND GAS

Chevron's $52M Iran Oil Loss Not Covered, Insurers Say

By Hope Patti

Primary insurers for Chevron urged a California federal court to find that they owe no coverage for nearly $52 million worth of crude oil that was taken by the Iranian government in March 2024, saying their combined marine cargo and war risks policy does not cover losses caused by confiscation.

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UTILITIES AND POWER

Enviro Orgs., Tribe Say Neb. Power Line Will 'Slice' Landscape

By Crystal Owens

The Rosebud Sioux Tribe, a historic ranch and conservation organizations are asking a Colorado federal court to block the construction of a 226-mile, high-voltage power line through the Nebraska Sandhills, arguing it will destroy iconic Indigenous and historic cultural landscapes, artifacts and resources if allowed to continue.

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RENEWABLES

Meyer Burger Unit Gets OK On Ch. 11 Wind-Down Plan

By Alex Wittenberg

A Delaware bankruptcy judge Tuesday signed off on the Chapter 11 liquidation plan of Swiss solar panel company Meyer Burger's U.S. arm, letting the subsidiary sell off its remaining assets and wrap up its bankruptcy.

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Plug Power Gets Some Claims Snipped From Investor Suit

By Katryna Perera

A Delaware federal judge has trimmed a shareholder suit against hydrogen fuel cell company Plug Power Inc., finding that statements about the company's revenue projections and one of its production facilities are inactionable.

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Brief

Solar Contractor Drops $31M Bond Dispute With Zurich

By Hope Patti

A solar energy contractor agreed to drop its suit accusing a pair of Zurich insurers of defaulting on a $30.9 million bond that guaranteed the performance of a subcontractor working on a solar plant in Klickitat County, Washington.

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES

Latham, Loeb Guide AI Battery Co.'s $250M SPAC Merger

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Electra Vehicles Inc., a provider of artificial intelligence-driven battery technology that is represented by Latham & Watkins LLP, outlined Tuesday its plans to go public by merging with a special purpose acquisition company advised by Loeb & Loeb LLP, in a deal valued at more than $250 million.

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Archer, Joby Spar Over Claims In Battle To Gain Air Taxi Edge

By Linda Chiem

Archer Aviation has told a federal court that rival electric air-taxi company Joby Aviation cannot ditch counterclaims alleging Joby concealed its China-based sourcing and misclassified imports to evade tariffs, while Joby accuses Archer of riding its coattails and trying to reframe the narrative around its own shady dealings.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

Legal And Regulatory Keys To Sustainable Building Projects

While the federal government continues to roll back environmental regulations, market momentum toward high-performance, energy-efficient commercial real estate as a defining driver of long-term value remains robust — so developers should understand how applicable standards and regulatory frameworks will affect projects, say attorneys at CGS3.

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E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On ESI Control

Several recent federal court decisions have perpetuated a split over what constitutes “control” of electronically stored information — with judges divided on whether the standard should turn on a party's legal right or practical ability to obtain the information, say attorneys at Sidley.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

Some Firms Break Lobbying Revenue Records Again

By Alison Knezevich

After raking in record-breaking federal lobbying revenue last year, several firms reported this week that they had their strongest quarter ever in the first three months of 2026, with practice leaders predicting another busy period ahead as midterms approach.

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Breyer Says 'Shadow Docket' Not A Top Court Power Grab

By Carolyn Muyskens

Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer said Tuesday that the rise of the so-called shadow docket is a consequence of the post-COVID era and not a bid to usurp influence by the high court. 

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Sullivan & Cromwell Alerts SDNY To AI Errors In Ch. 15 Case

By Andrea Keckley

Sullivan & Cromwell LLP told a New York bankruptcy judge Saturday that an emergency motion it filed in Prince Global Holdings Ltd.'s Chapter 15 case contained several inaccurate citations and other errors, including what the firm described as artificial intelligence "hallucinations."

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Pillsbury Unlawfully Fired Pregnant Recruiter, Bias Suit Says

By Lauren Berg

The former Black female director for associate recruiting at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP says she was unlawfully fired just weeks after disclosing her high-risk pregnancy to her supervisor, according to her discrimination and retaliation lawsuit filed Tuesday in Tennessee federal court.

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WDTX Judge Albright Stepping Down At End Of Summer

By Dani Kass

U.S. District Judge Alan Albright is resigning after nearly eight years presiding over cases in the Western District of Texas, Law360 confirmed Tuesday.

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Ex-Wis. Judge Argues ICE Case Reversal Backs Her Acquittal

By Craig Clough

Former state Judge Hannah Dugan asked a Wisconsin federal judge Tuesday to reconsider an order not to overturn her felony obstruction conviction for directing a defendant in her courtroom away from immigration agents, arguing the Fourth Circuit recently reversed a decision the trial court repeatedly relied upon.

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Warsh Rejects Claim He'd Be Trump's 'Sock Puppet' At Fed

By Jon Hill

Federal Reserve chair nominee Kevin Warsh sought at his Tuesday confirmation hearing to rebut Democratic accusations that he would be a White House "sock puppet," distancing himself from President Donald Trump's calls for rate cuts and downplaying their significance.

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Copyright Head Touts 6,000 Registrations Of Human-AI Works

By Theresa Schliep

The U.S. Copyright Office has issued more than 6,000 registrations for works that incorporate artificial intelligence-generated materials and follow the agency's guidance for combined human-made and AI-created works, U.S. Copyright Office leader Shira Perlmutter said Tuesday.

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Promo that reads Law360 Pulse 2026 AI Survey

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

A Z Corp.

Abiomed Inc.

Air Conditioning Heating & Refrigeration Institute

Amazon.com Inc.

American Arbitration Association

American Federation of Labor & Congress of Industrial Organizations

American Postal Workers Union

Archer Aviation Inc.

BGR Government Affairs LLC

BTIG LLC

Ballard Partners Inc.

Bauer Inc.

BlackBerry Ltd.

Burke Inc.

CBRE Group Inc.

Campaign Legal Center

Center for Biological Diversity Inc.

Chevron Corp.

Cohen & Co. Ltd.

Cox Communications Inc.

Earthjustice

Empire Petroleum Corp.

FCA US LLC

Ferrari SpA

Forge Nano Inc.

Great American Insurance Co.

Harvard University

InterOil Corporation

Joby Aero Inc

Liberty Mutual Insurance Group

Maquet GmbH

NVIDIA Corp.

Nasdaq Inc.

National Association of Realtors

Natural Resources Defense Council

Plug Power, Inc.

Sony Music Entertainment Inc.

Space Exploration Technologies Corp.

Stellantis NV

Swift Energy Co.

Trane Technologies PLC

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

U.S. Green Building Council

World Economic Forum

Zurich Insurance Group AG

LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Ahmad Zavitsanos

Akin Gump

Alexander Dubose

Andrews Myers

Blueprint Construction Counsel

Boies Schiller

Bracewell LLP

Brownstein Hyatt

Burke LLP

Clyde & Co

Crosbie Gliner

DLA Piper

Dentons

Eubanks & Associates

Eversheds Sutherland

Fish & Richardson

Fox Rothschild

Friedlander & Gorris

Gibson Dunn

Gimbel Reilly

Grasso Moeller

Gray Cary

Hogan Lovells

Holland & Hart

Holland & Knight

Just Food Law PLLC

K&L Gates

Kessler Topaz

Kirkland & Ellis

Kobre & Kim

Latham & Watkins

Loeb & Loeb

Lynn Pinker

McGuireWoods

Miller & Chevalier

Mound Cotton

Munsch Hardt

Murphy Ball Stratton

Paul Weiss

Pillsbury Winthrop

Quinn Emanuel

Richards Layton

Ruberto Israel

Scott&Scott

Sidley Austin

Squire Patton

Strang Bradley

Sullivan & Cromwell

Torridon Law

Troutman

Weitz & Luxenberg

Willkie Farr

Yetter Coleman

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Advisory Council on Historic Preservation

Bureau of Land Management

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

Executive Office of the President

Federal Election Commission

Federal Emergency Management Agency

Federal Reserve System

Federal Trade Commission

Fish and Wildlife Service

Government of Mexico

Judicial Conference of the United States

NAFTA

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

National Labor Relations Board

Nebraska Public Power District

Rosebud Sioux Tribe

Texas Attorney General's Office

Texas Legislature

Texas Supreme Court

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

U.S. Attorney's Office

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

U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware

U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York

U.S. Copyright Office

U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

U.S. Department of Commerce

U.S. Department of Defense

U.S. Department of Energy

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 District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut

U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware

U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts

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

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

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

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

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

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

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

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

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Senate

U.S. Supreme Court

United States District Court for the District of Colorado

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin

Western Area Power Administration