Calif. Judge OKs $57M Deal On Former Navy Site's Cleanup

By Madeline Lyskawa

A California federal judge has approved a $57 million settlement between the U.S. government and Tetra Tech EC Inc., resolving claims that the company billed the Navy for radiation cleanup work at the former Hunters Point Naval Shipyard that it never performed.

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5th Circ. Nixes Fed Approval For Offshore Oil Export Port

By Tom Lotshaw

A Fifth Circuit panel overturned a license approval for a deepwater port off Texas, ruling that the Trump administration failed to properly consider how a pipeline serving the offshore crude oil export facility would intersect a pipeline for another approved port.

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Split 11th Circ. Backs IRS $1M Value For Contested Easement

By Asha Glover

A split Eleventh Circuit panel affirmed a decision to slash three Georgia landowners' conservation easement value from $18 million to $1 million Thursday, saying the U.S. Tax Court didn't need to determine the property's best use because the parties already agreed on that use.

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Arizona, Tribes Sign Deal To Offset Coal Economy Losses

By Crystal Owens

Arizona, the Hopi Tribe and the Navajo Nation have signed an agreement that aims to boost economic growth for tribal communities that lost thousands of jobs and millions in revenue after major coal mining companies stopped or scaled back operations in the Four Corners region.

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Del. Water Supplier Sues 9 Cos. Over PFAS

By Emily Field

A Delaware water supplier hit nine companies with a suit in state court alleging that they released forever chemicals into the watersheds that supply water to tens of thousands of residents, seeking to recoup at least $34.6 million for the cost of ensuring safe drinking water.

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DHS Defends Building New ICE Facility In Silicon Valley

By Dorothy Atkins

The federal government fired back in California federal court Wednesday against a bid by California and Santa Clara County to block a planned ICE office and temporary holding facility in Silicon Valley, arguing that the project's alleged environmental, health and safety impacts are speculative and unsupported.

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Fla. Law Firm Cost Bank's $134M BP Oil Spill Claim, Suit Says

By Katryna Perera

An Ohio bank holding company has sued a Florida law firm in Ohio federal court for more than $134 million in damages, alleging the firm missed key filing deadlines while representing the bank in litigation tied to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, costing the bank its chance to recover millions in losses.

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NC Biz Court Bulletin: Judges Retire, HCA Suit Heads To Trial

By Hayley Fowler

The North Carolina Business Court dropped a host of heavy-hitting opinions in July ahead of two judicial retirements and a new chief judge rising in the ranks.

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Groups Say Shuttered Fla. Detention Center Threatens Wildlife

By David Minsky

Environmental groups have accused wildlife officials of polluting protected land through an immigrant detention center in the Everglades, alleging in an updated complaint filed in Florida federal court that the now-shuttered site continues to threaten endangered species in the area.

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Wyo. Archaeologists Challenge Reach Of Native Graves Rule

By Crystal Owens

The Wyoming Association of Professional Archaeologists is asking a district court to block the transfer of six Indigenous collections to the federal government, arguing that an update to a law designed to protect Native American burial sites goes beyond what Congress intended.

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Series

Going To Hardcore Shows Makes Me A Better Lawyer

While government contracts law and the hardcore scene may seem entirely unrelated, in my experience, both are about community, focus, being prepared for the unexpected and managing chaos, says Isaac Natter at Fluet.

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Anti-DEI Group Asks FTC To Probe Law Fellowship Program

By Dorothy Atkins

An advocacy organization against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives filed an antitrust complaint with the Federal Trade Commission Wednesday, accusing Sponsors for Educational Opportunity of engaging in anticompetitive practices by allegedly colluding on DEI metrics and falsely advertising its program.

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Baker Botts Atty Cleared Of Defamation In Inventor's Suit

By Carolina Bolado

A Florida federal judge on Thursday tossed a defamation claim against a Baker Botts LLP patent attorney after agreeing with a magistrate judge's conclusion that an inventor had not shown that the lawyer's comments to a reporter were defamatory.

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NYC Bar Committee Calls For Nationwide AI Rules Framework

By Andrea Keckley

A New York City Bar Association committee concluded in a policy paper published Wednesday that artificial intelligence tools "may assist legal work but cannot substitute for professional legal judgment," calling for a national framework to be built into the Model Rules of Professional Conduct governing its use.

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Trump Picks Ex-Arkansas SG, Walmart Lawyer For 8th Circ.

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump has announced that he's looking to elevate Judge Lee Rudofsky of the Eastern District of Arkansas to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

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State Farm Attys Admit Filing Motions Full Of AI Hallucinations

By Jonathan Capriel

A law firm representing State Farm has admitted that its pretrial motions contained citations to nonexistent cases and legal quotes, errors that were seemingly "hallucinations" generated by AI software designed for lawyers and caught by the plaintiff's attorneys as they prepared for trial in a California state court case about fire damage coverage.

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Brief

DOJ Fraud Division To Reach 500 Staffers This Month

By Courtney Bublé

By the end of the month, there will be about 500 attorneys and staff in the U.S. Department of Justice's new fraud division, with more to come as time goes on.

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JP Ward Attorney Exodus Delays Pa. Labor Trafficking Suit

By Matthew Santoni

A "staffing disruption" at the Pittsburgh law firm J.P. Ward & Associates led the firm to request a stay of a labor-trafficking case against hotels in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, after the firm was reduced to one attorney and two staff members, according to court filings.

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