PacifiCorp Link Should DQ Appeal Judge, Plaintiffs Say

By Cara Salvatore

Counsel for a class of Oregon property owners asked an appeals court Tuesday to disqualify the judge who authored a decision overturning classwide liability against PacifiCorp for wildfire damage, saying the judge's alleged work for the utility in prior private practice would cause a reasonable person to question her impartiality.

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NJ, Pa. Move For New Data Center Development Standards

By Nate Beck

State officials in New Jersey and Pennsylvania on Wednesday rolled out proposed restrictions on data centers, with each state looking to require developers to account for power usage, adhere to new transparency requirements and agree to provide community benefits to construct projects.

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Cummins Beats Emissions Derivative Suits, For Now

By Linda Chiem

An Indiana federal judge on Wednesday dismissed consolidated shareholder derivative litigation alleging engine manufacturer Cummins Inc.'s top executives breached their fiduciary duties by overseeing a scheme to rig vehicles with emissions-cheating software, prompting $2 billion in penalties to settle regulators' claims concerning Clean Air Act violations.

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9th Circ. Says Alaska Can Release ConocoPhillips Well Data

By Rae Ann Varona

The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday reversed a lower court's ruling that kept ConocoPhillips' Alaskan well data confidential, saying in a published opinion that federal law and regulations did not preempt an Alaska statute requiring the data's release.

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Colo. Group Says $66M Flood Bonds Needed TABOR Vote

By Zach Dupont

A group of Boulder residents told a Colorado Court of Appeals panel Wednesday at oral arguments that the city's stormwater and flood management fees, which will be used in part to repay $66 million in bonds, are actually a tax under Colorado's Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, or TABOR.

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IRS Asked To Quickly Release Fuel Credit Emissions Model

By Kat Lucero

Energy companies and farm representatives urged the IRS on Wednesday to expedite the release of an updated greenhouse gas emissions model reflecting the 2025 budget law's changes, saying the guidance is needed to determine eligibility for and calculate the clean fuel production tax credit.

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Roundup Plaintiffs Say $7.25B Deal Belongs In State Court

By Mike Curley

A proposed class of Roundup users is urging a Missouri federal court to send their $7.25 billion settlement with Monsanto back to state court, calling the "frivolous" removal by objectors a "sham" that can't stand up in the face of court rules and the law.

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Massachusetts Data Center Sued Over 'Pervasive' Hum

By Julie Manganis

The "loud, annoying and pervasive" hum from a recently expanded data center in Massachusetts is trapping people in their homes, unable to enjoy their yards or leave windows open and keeping them awake at night, neighbors say in a proposed class action filed Wednesday in state court.

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Shuttered USDA Program Grantees Join Suit To Restore $125M

By Elaine Briseño

Several organizations have joined the legal fight to restore $127 million in U.S. Department of Agriculture grants aimed at fighting climate change through diverse farm ownership, arguing that the agency's termination of the funding was arbitrary and capricious.

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National Trust Asks DC Circ. To Back Trump Ballroom Block

By Tom Lotshaw

The National Trust for Historic Preservation on Wednesday urged the D.C. Circuit to affirm a district court injunction that halted President Donald Trump's construction of a White House ballroom, arguing there's no justification for the project to proceed without Congress' approval.

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Mich. Residents Sue AI Data Center Over Alleged 24/7 Noise

By Melanie Dorsey

Two western Michigan residents have filed a proposed class action accusing the operator of a data center used for artificial intelligence and bitcoin mining of subjecting nearby homeowners to constant industrial noise, claiming it disrupts daily life and reduces property values.

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Fla. Detention Site Pollutes, Environmental Group Tells Court

By David Minsky

An environmental nonprofit told a Florida federal judge Wednesday that the director of the state's disaster agency illegally authorized a fleet of diesel-burning equipment that pollutes protected land surrounding an Everglades immigrant detention center, leading to violations of the Clean Air Act.

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US Looks To Drop Cross-Claim In ND Riverbed Rights Fight

By Joyce Hanson

A North Dakota federal judge has ordered the U.S. Department of the Interior and a tribal nation to file a joint report about a DOI solicitor's opinion in a dispute over who owns mineral rights beneath a portion of the Missouri River.

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Travelers Can't Halt Water Damage Fight, Senior Home Says

By Hope Patti

The owner of a senior living community in Kansas urged a Colorado federal court to keep its coverage suit over $7 million in water damage moving along while contemplating a Travelers unit's request to toss Colorado statutory and common law bad faith claims and transfer the dispute to Kansas.

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Brief

Golf Club Ends Hurricane Coverage Fight With Allianz Unit

By Abigail Harrison

A multimillion-dollar insurance coverage brawl between an Allianz unit and a private golf club in which the club said it was unfairly denied coverage for damages caused by Hurricane Helene has settled ahead of trial, according to a mediation report.

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3 Firms Steer Battery-Maker ProLogium's $3.8B SPAC Merger

By Al Barbarino

Taiwanese solid-state battery-maker ProLogium Holding Inc. said Wednesday it has agreed to go public through a SPAC merger with New York-based Translational Development Acquisition Corp., in a deal valuing ProLogium at approximately $3.8 billion on a pre-money, net cash-free basis.

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3 Firms Guide Nuclear Power Startup's $2.4B SPAC Merger

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Nuclear energy company Newcleo Ltd. on Wednesday unveiled plans to go public by merging with special purpose acquisition company NewHold Investment Corp. III in a deal that values Newcleo at a pre-money equity value of roughly $2.4 billion and was built by three law firms.

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Perkins Coie Hires Career Latham Energy Atty In Calif.

By Jack Rodgers

A longtime Latham & Watkins LLP energy lawyer, who spent all but a year and a half of his nearly 20-year career with the firm, has moved his practice representing real estate developers, energy companies and other clients to Perkins Coie LLP, the firm announced Tuesday.

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Del. Justices' Ripeness Ruling Shields Advance Notice Bylaws

The Delaware Supreme Court’s recent decision dismissing two AES and Owens Corning stockholder challenges of advance notice bylaws as unripe provides corporations more room to insulate their nomination procedures from activist pressure, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

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Analysis

Meet Biden's Attys Fighting DOJ Release Of Memoir Materials

By Jeff Overley

Former President Joe Biden has selected Hecker Fink LLP lawyers well acquainted with politically charged litigation for his extraordinary new lawsuit accusing the U.S. Department of Justice of orchestrating a congressional inquiry in order to divulge "highly personal" records to the Heritage Foundation.

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Chicago US Atty Revamps Grand Jury Rules After Misconduct

By Parker Quinlan

Chicago's top federal prosecutor announced on Wednesday a new suite of rules for how grand jury investigations are handled after an Illinois federal judge accused the prosecutor's office of misconduct in a case against six immigration activists.

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Pierce Atwood Rips Billionaire's 'Absurd' Suit Over Asset Sale

By Sydney Price

Pierce Atwood and two attorneys urged a Massachusetts federal judge to reject a Ukrainian billionaire's suit blaming them for a $1.8 billion damages order in investor litigation over the billionaire's failed biotech company, saying his own wrongdoing led to the judgment.

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Ex-Judges Urge Court To Scrutinize Trump-IRS Deal

By Jack McLoone

A group of 35 former federal judges pushed for a Florida federal court to reopen President Donald Trump's now-settled $10 billion tax leak case against his own Internal Revenue Service, alleging that Trump and the DOJ deceived the court.

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Trump Taps Ohio Appeals Judge For Federal Bench

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday he's nominating state Judge Matthew Byrne as a U.S. district judge for the Southern District of Ohio.

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Perkins Coie Docs At Issue In Omani Co.'s Malpractice Case

By Sarah Jarvis

An Oman-based screw and nail manufacturer has urged a Washington state judge to force Perkins Coie LLP to hand over a trove of documents related to the firm's past work representing the Middle Eastern company in a U.S. Department of Commerce probe, saying more information is needed to assess the law firm's defenses against claims its mistakes cost the company hundreds of millions of dollars.

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ProPublica Denied Access To Ranbaxy Antitrust MDL Docs

By Gianna Ferrarin

A Massachusetts federal court denied ProPublica's bid to unseal court filings in settled multidistrict litigation alleging a subsidiary of Indian drugmaker Sun Pharmaceuticals illegally delayed market entry of generic drugs, ruling the nonprofit news organization's request came too late in the case.

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Titan Of The Plaintiffs Bar: Keller Rohrback's Gretchen Freeman Cappio

By Andrea Keckley

By the time Volkswagen was exposed for touting the low emissions of cars that secretly released nitrogen oxide pollutants up to 40 times the legal limit in the U.S., Keller Rohrback LLP's Gretchen Freeman Cappio knew she wasn't interested in defending corporate giants.

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