The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday said it's planning a series of actions to address pollution from forever chemicals, including the designation of a leader for PFAS regulation and issues at the EPA.
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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30, 2025 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

EPA Touts Intention To Act On PFAS Contamination

By Juan-Carlos Rodriguez

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday said it's planning a series of actions to address pollution from forever chemicals, including the designation of a leader for PFAS regulation and issues at the EPA.

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10th Circ. Says EPA Overlooked Colo. Air Pollution Concerns

By Juan-Carlos Rodriguez

The Tenth Circuit on Monday said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency inappropriately approved changes to Colorado's air pollution standards that a green group claimed allow regulators to disregard emissions during drilling, fracking and well completion processes.

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Biz Groups Fight NY's Bid To Join Their Climate Suit With States'

By Keith Goldberg

Fossil fuel industry groups countered the New York attorney general's bid to transfer their lawsuit fighting a $75 billion tab they must pay for climate change adaptation projects, saying joining their suit with one from a group of Republican states would serve neither justice nor judicial economy.

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POLICY & REGULATION

Brief

EPA Restarts Voluntary Retirement Program

By Juan-Carlos Rodriguez

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday refreshed its effort to convince employees to take a voluntary retirement package that was rolled out in the early days of the Trump administration but has been dormant until now.

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Brief

EPA Waiver Lifts Summer Ban On High-Ethanol Fuel Sales

By Keith Goldberg

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday formally suspended the usual summer ban on sales of higher-ethanol gasoline blends, the fourth year in a row the agency has done so.

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LITIGATION

Ag Groups Say 'Common Sense' Means Standing In EPA Suit

By Catherine Marfin

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency hit back Monday at a contention by agricultural groups that "common sense" gives them standing to challenge a 2024 rule that changes the type of gasoline car manufacturers are required to test for fuel economy.

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Pulled Decision Dooms Chicago Disposal Site Suit, Feds Say

By Tom Lotshaw

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers urged an Illinois federal judge to toss a suit challenging its decision to expand a disposal facility that stores sediments dredged from Chicago waterways now that it has withdrawn that decision.

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Green Group Says Shell Case Discovery Fees Are Too Costly

By P.J. D'Annunzio

A Philadelphia-based environmental group suing Shell over pollution from a Western Pennsylvania chemical plant balked at a federal court's order that it pay 15% of the cost to resolve a discovery dispute, arguing it could be left with a potentially devastating tab.

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Brief

Veolia Settles Flint Water Crisis Claims For $53M

By Madeline Lyskawa

A Michigan federal judge entered final judgment Monday in litigation brought by the state of Michigan and about 26,000 individuals against Veolia North America alleging it prolonged the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, after a $53 million settlement was approved earlier this month.

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PRODUCT LIABILITY

Ziploc 'Microwave Safe' Bags Shed Microplastics, Buyer Says

By Lauren Berg

S.C. Johnson & Son Inc. falsely markets Ziploc bags and containers as "microwave safe" and suitable for use in freezers despite knowing they are made from materials that shed microplastics into food when the products are used as directed, according to a proposed class action filed in California federal court.

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PROPERTY INSURANCE

FAIR Plan Failed To Pay For LA Fire Smoke Claims, Suit Says

By Hope Patti

Another group of California homeowners has accused the state's insurer of last resort of illegally denying and underpaying claims for smoke damage following the Los Angeles wildfires despite its obligation to cover all fire-related damage under California law, according to a lawsuit filed in state court.

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BANKRUPTCY

Nikola Seeks Court OK For $9M Climate-Credit Sale Process

By Alex Wittenberg

Electric truck maker Nikola Corp. has asked a Delaware bankruptcy judge to approve a sale process for environmental credits the company earned by selling zero-emission vehicles, saying it has secured an $8.97 million bid that will set a floor price for the assets.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

Trump DOE's Plan On AI Offers Challenges, Opportunities

The Trump administration's push to make federal land available for development of artificial intelligence data centers follows a similar Biden administration proposal — but a new request for information from the U.S. Department of Energy envisions a rapid timeline that may prove challenging for both the DOE and industry stakeholders, say attorneys at HWG.

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Understanding How Jurors Arrive At Punitive Damage Awards

Much of the rising trend of so-called thermonuclear verdicts can be tied to punitive damages amounts that astonish the imagination, so attorneys must understand the psychological underpinnings that drive jurors’ decision-making calculus on damages, says Clint Townson at Townson Litigation.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

The 2025 Lawyer Satisfaction Survey

Law firms and the legal profession are facing new uncertainties, shifting the stress levels, economic pressures, and overall contentment of lawyers in private practice, according to the 2025 Law360 Pulse Lawyer Satisfaction Survey.

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'The Court Is Not A Cartoon': Judge Rips Dragon Watermark

By Hailey Konnath

A Michigan federal magistrate judge Monday ordered an East Lansing, Michigan, firm called Dragon Lawyers PC to stop plastering its pleadings with a large, suit-clad purple cartoon dragon watermark on each page, saying it's not only "distracting, it's juvenile and impertinent."

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Analysis

Feds Have Strong Hand On Judge Charged With Blocking ICE

By Danielle Ferguson and Carolyn Muyskens

A Wisconsin state judge faces an uphill battle in defending against federal criminal allegations that she helped a man evade immigration officials at a Wisconsin courthouse, but she may be able to stake out a defense in arguing the government can't prove intent, experts told Law360. 

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California Judge Loses Pay After Conviction For Murdering Wife

By Gina Kim

The California Commission on Judicial Performance formally suspended a California judge without pay after a state jury found him guilty of second-degree murder last week for shooting his wife to death in their Anaheim Hills home on Aug. 3, 2023, following a heated argument. 

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Q&A

Sullivan M&A Chief Sees Opportunities Amid Tariff Turmoil

By Al Barbarino

After a rocky start to 2025, the mergers and acquisitions landscape is grappling with economic volatility, shifting trade policies and a complex regulatory environment. But even in a "choppy" market, there are always deals to be made, says Melissa Sawyer, global head of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP's M&A group and co-head of its corporate governance practice.

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NJ Judge Apologizes Through Waylon Jennings Lyrics

By George Woolston

Clark Township, New Jersey, Municipal Judge Antonio Inacio said Tuesday that he isn't proud of all the things that led him to appear before a Garden State judiciary disciplinary committee, but he can say that he never intentionally hurt anyone by his conduct.

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$10M Brown Rudnick Deal With Guo Trustee Gets Judge's OK

By Aaron Keller

A Connecticut bankruptcy judge on Tuesday approved a $10 million deal between Miles Guo's Chapter 11 trustee and the Chinese exile's onetime attorneys at Brown Rudnick LLP, and greenlighted 10 lesser settlements with other firms and luxury retailer Versace.

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Analysis

GOP Plan To Shutter Audit Watchdog Could Strain SEC

By Jessica Corso

Congressional Republicans are renewing the push to get rid of a financial regulator that conservatives have complained is costly and lacks proper oversight, but some former staffers at the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board wonder whether the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has the manpower or expertise to take over the board's duties.

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Federal Defenders Of NY Staff Announce Union Drive

By Andrea Keckley

Staff members at the Federal Defenders of New York have announced their plans to join their attorney colleagues as members of the Association of Legal Advocates and Attorneys.

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Justices Scoff At Feds' Defenses In Mistaken FBI Raid Case

By Chart Riggall

Supreme Court justices Tuesday appeared flummoxed by the government's "ridiculous" arguments it should be immune to a Georgia resident's lawsuit over a mistaken FBI raid on her house, but seemed unlikely to issue a blanket ruling on when an officer's discretion trumps their liability for injuries caused by their actions.

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Alex Jones Wants High Court Look At $1.3B Sandy Hook Case

By Brian Steele

Bankrupt Infowars host Alex Jones will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to invalidate a mammoth libel judgment that families of Sandy Hook shooting victims secured against him and his company over his conspiratorial broadcasts calling the massacre a hoax, he told a Connecticut appellate court in seeking to extend a pause on the payout.

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Breyer To Talk Pragmatism At NJ Bar Association Convention

By Carla Baranauckas

Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer will bring his pragmatic legal philosophy to center stage when he appears at the New Jersey State Bar Association Convention on May 16 in Atlantic City.

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LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

ArentFox Schiff LLP

Baker & Hostetler

Blank Rome

Boyden Gray

Broocks Law Firm

Brown Rudnick

Clarkson Law Firm PC

Clement & Murphy

Cohn Birnbaum

Edelson PC

GPS Legal

Gibson Dunn

HWG LLP

Hodgson Russ

Kerley Schaffer

King & Spalding

Kirkland & Ellis

Koskoff Koskoff

Lehotsky Keller

Levy Konigsberg

Lowenstein Sandler

Mayer Brown

McManimon Scotland

NachtLaw

Napoli Shkolnik

Neubert Pepe

Pearson Warshaw

Pillsbury Winthrop

Potter Anderson

Randazza Legal Group

Spero Law LLC

Sullivan & Cromwell

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

AT&T Inc.

American Petroleum Institute Inc.

Apple Inc.

Bayer AG

California Fair Plan Association

Center for Biological Diversity Inc.

Clean Air Council

Electric Power Research Institute Inc.

Environmental Integrity Project

FTI Consulting Inc.

Institute for Justice

LinkedIn Corp.

Los Alamos National Laboratory

Lucid Motors

Meta Platforms Inc.

Monsanto Co.

National Mining Association

New Jersey State Bar Association

Nikola Corp.

Public Co. Accounting Oversight Board

S.C. Johnson & Son Inc.

State Bar of Michigan

Tesla Inc.

The Business Council of New York State

The Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Track Data Corp.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Veolia Environnement SA

Wabash National Corp.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

California Commission on Judicial Performance

California Department of Insurance

City and County of San Francisco, California

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Illinois Attorney General's Office

Illinois Environmental Protection Agency

National Labor Relations Board

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

New Jersey Supreme Court

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

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

U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

U.S. Department of Energy

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. District & Bankruptcy Courts of Southern District of Texas

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Supreme Court

United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Connecticut