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Project Finance
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February 26, 2024
Apache's $3B Write-Down Merits Bigger Class, Investors Say
A group of Apache Corp. investors on the cusp of winning class certification are arguing that their promised class should be extended to encompass even more investors who were allegedly deceived by company promises of a potentially lucrative drilling project that ultimately led to a $3 billion write-down when it went bust.
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February 26, 2024
Gas Groups Press DOE To Restart LNG Export Reviews
Oil and gas industry groups on Monday urged the U.S. Department of Energy to lift its recent pause of approvals of liquefied natural gas exports to countries that don't have free-trade agreements with the United States, arguing that the move is illegal.
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February 26, 2024
FCC Tells Reps. Starlink RDOF Application Was Insufficient
The Federal Communications Commission recently told members of Congress that the agency rejected satellite company Starlink's long-form application for about $885 million in rural broadband development subsidies because the company's plan indicated it had trouble meeting speed standards, among other reasons.
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February 26, 2024
Texas Justices Say $220M Cobalt Deal Is A Loss Under Policy
A $220 million settlement that now-bankrupt Cobalt International Energy Inc. reached with a group of investors constitutes a loss under the energy company's insurance policies, but the agreement is not binding on Cobalt's insurers to establish coverage, the Texas Supreme Court ruled.
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February 26, 2024
Banks Say Brazil Pollution Suit In NY Is In Wrong Country
Four leading financial institutions are urging a New York federal judge to throw out a pair of proposed class suits accusing them of enabling environmental degradation in Brazil by lending $17.2 million to Brazilian mining company Vale SA, arguing the claims don't belong in the United States because they are "all about Brazil."
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February 26, 2024
Project Finance Group Of The Year: Sullivan & Cromwell
A $7 billion deal to finance a liquefied natural gas facility in Texas is one of several clean or renewable energy transactions in which Sullivan & Cromwell LLP played a leading role in 2023, earning the firm a spot among Law360's Project Finance Groups of the Year.
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February 26, 2024
BP, Chevron Lose 4th Circ. Fight Over Climate Suit Venue
The Fourth Circuit on Monday rejected the latest attempt by BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil and other oil titans to go to federal court to litigate complaints that accuse them of lying about fossil fuels' climate effects, joining multiple courts in reasoning that the claims don't invoke federal law.
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February 23, 2024
Wildlife, Paddling Groups Want To Join Clean Water Act Fight
The National Wildlife Federation and American Whitewater are asking a Louisiana federal judge to let them join litigation over an updated Clean Water Act rule that expanded states' and tribes' ability to block projects such as pipelines and dams over water quality concerns, to ensure their interests are considered.
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February 23, 2024
Commerce Dept. Partly Waives 'Buy America' For BEAD
The U.S. Department of Commerce on Friday announced limited waivers from "Buy America" requirements under the agency's $42.5 billion broadband deployment program to make sure that enough advanced components can flow to projects around the country.
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February 23, 2024
Conn. Justices OK $2.9M Cut To Power Co.'s Cost Recovery
Connecticut's highest court on Friday held that state energy regulators properly trimmed a power company's annual cost recovery bid by more than $2.86 million, agreeing with a lower court that it was not arbitrary or capricious to decline to pass the expense to customers.
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February 23, 2024
1st Circ. Told Wind Farm's Approval Should've Been A Breeze
A wind farm developer has asked the First Circuit to reject fishing groups' challenge to the U.S. Department of the Interior's approval of a proposed project off the coast of Martha's Vineyard, saying the effort to sink the plan can't survive because the agency did things by the book.
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February 23, 2024
NH Plant Strikes Deal On Power Purchase Contract
A bankrupt New Hampshire power plant reached terms on a deal Friday with an entity whose contract to purchase the facility's power was rejected earlier this week, telling a Delaware federal judge the agreement will help quickly transition to a new purchaser and stave off a shutdown of the plant.
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February 23, 2024
Congress Must Fund Next-Gen 911, 9 Ex-FCC Chairs Say
Nine former chairs of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, who served under Democratic and Republican administrations, are urging congressional leadership to fully commit to implementing the next generation of 911.
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February 23, 2024
Groups Back Texas' Bid To Void Feds' Highway GHG Rule
Construction trade groups have thrown their support behind the state of Texas' federal lawsuit seeking to vacate a new U.S. Department of Transportation rule requiring states to set targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from federally funded highway projects.
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February 23, 2024
Denver Jury Awards Aecom $5M In Toll Lanes Fight
A Denver federal jury awarded construction design firm Aecom $5.25 million in damages Friday for a subcontractor's failure to pay for design services for a Colorado highway expansion, and rejected the subcontractor's attempt to get $260 million in counterclaims.
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February 23, 2024
Project Finance Group Of The Year: Mayer Brown
Mayer Brown LLP guided financing for a Pennsylvania bridge replacement project of unrivaled proportions and navigated a first-of-its-kind tax credit transfer transaction amid a renewable energy portfolio buy, landing the firm a spot among Law360's 2024 Project Finance Groups of the Year.
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February 23, 2024
Woodside Selling 15.1% Stake In Aussie Gas Project For $1.4B
Australia's Woodside Energy said Friday it will sell a 15.1% stake in its Scarborough gas project to Japan-based JERA at a $1.4 billion value, creating a partnership that will help boost the project's development while creating opportunities for further collaboration.
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February 22, 2024
NY Offshore Wind Project Gets Final Green Light From Feds
The Biden administration said Thursday it has approved the Empire Wind offshore wind energy project's construction and operations plan, clearing the way for construction of two wind facilities off the coast of Long Island, New York.
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February 22, 2024
EPA Puts $5.8B On Tap For Water Infrastructure Projects
The Biden administration said it's making $5.8 billion available to help pay for water projects around the U.S., steering millions of dollars to states and territories to help overhaul drinking water infrastructure, and wastewater and stormwater systems.
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February 22, 2024
ISP Liaison Must Monitor Digital Equity Compliance, FCC Told
Civil rights advocates are urging the Federal Communications Commission to adopt a rule requiring that internet service providers appoint liaisons to serve as contact points for communities and file annual reports detailing compliance with digital non-discrimination rules.
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February 22, 2024
FirstEnergy Faces Renewed Consumer Probes Amid Scandal
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio has decided to lift its stay on four separate consumer protection investigations into three FirstEnergy Corp. subsidiaries, stemming from corruption surrounding a law paving the way for a $1.3 billion nuclear energy bailout.
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February 22, 2024
Project Finance Group Of The Year: Kaplan Kirsch
As a leader in assembling bespoke models to pay for a variety of public infrastructure projects, Kaplan Kirsch & Rockwell LLP advised construction of an urban interstate in Denver, a $5 billion update at Los Angeles International Airport and planning for a transit program powered by self-driving cars, earning a spot among Law360's 2023 Project Finance Groups of the Year.
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February 21, 2024
Tribes Say Oil Co. Must Face Tribal Court In $12M Award Fight
Two Native American tribes have asked a Wyoming district court to block a bid by Merit Energy attempting to stop them from using their tribal judicial system to vacate a $12.6 million arbitration award, saying the company has not yet exhausted all tribal remedies.
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February 21, 2024
Contractor Says Lima Merits Sanctions In $140M Award Row
A municipal contractor has asked a D.C. federal court to sanction Lima, Peru, for prolonging its efforts to enforce nearly $140 million in arbitral awards it won over a highway contract that went awry, saying the city has unnecessarily prolonged the dispute with two actions.
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February 21, 2024
9th Circ. Says Federal Coal Lease Ban Case 'Is Moot'
A Ninth Circuit panel on Wednesday vacated and remanded a district court's ruling that had reinstated a 2016 moratorium on federal coal leasing, with a recommendation that the litigation be dismissed as moot, saying there's no basis to conclude that a challenge to a defunct order is still alive.
Expert Analysis
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Series
The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Espinosa On 'Lincoln Lawyer'
The murder trials in Netflix’s “The Lincoln Lawyer” illustrate the stark contrast between the ethical high ground that fosters and maintains the criminal justice system's integrity, and the ethical abyss that can undermine it, with an important reminder for all legal practitioners, say Judge Adam Espinosa and Andrew Howard at the Colorado 2nd Judicial District Court.
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Calif. GHG Disclosure Law Will Affect Companies Worldwide
California's Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act, which will require comprehensive greenhouse gas emissions disclosures from large companies operating in the state, will mean compliance challenges for a wide range of industries, nationally and globally, as the law's requirements will ultimately trickle out and down, say attorneys at Brownstein Hyatt.
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What ESG Investing Ruling Means For Fiduciaries
A Texas federal court’s recent ruling — upholding a U.S. Department of Labor rule allowing retirement plan fiduciaries to consider ESG factors in certain investment decisions — provides welcome clarity for plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act that have long been buffeted by partisan noise and misinformation, say attorneys at Covington.
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What Panama Canal Award Ruling Means For Int'l Arbitration
As the prevalence of international arbitration grows, the Eighth Circuit’s recent decision in Grupo Unidos v. Canal de Panama may change how practitioners decide what remedies to seek and where to raise them if claims are rejected, says Jerry Roth at FedArb.
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Opinion
Newman Suspension Shows Need For Judicial Reform
The recent suspension of U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman following her alleged refusal to participate in a disability inquiry reveals the need for judicial misconduct reforms to ensure that judges step down when they can no longer serve effectively, says Aliza Shatzman at The Legal Accountability Project.
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How 2 Cases Could Undermine The Anti-ESG Movement
A decision from a federal court in Texas and another case currently making its way through Missouri federal court signal an emerging judicial recognition of the link between environmental, social and governance considerations and maximizing financial returns, say Amy Roy and Robert Skinner at Ropes & Gray.
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EB-5 Investment Period Clarification Raises More Questions
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' recent clarifying guidance for EB-5 investors, specifying that the statutory investment period begins two years from the date of investment, raises as many questions as it answers given related agency requirements and investors' potential contractual obligations, says Daniel Lundy at Klasko Immigration Law Partners.
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EPA Report A Reminder That Fuel Credits Are 'Buyer Beware'
A recent report from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Inspector General is a reminder that fraud risk in the renewable fuel identification number market remains, and that purchasers are ultimately responsible for ensuring the validity of credits they buy, say David McIndoe and Nick Hillman at Eversheds Sutherland.
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Series
ESG Around The World: Japan
Japan is witnessing rapid developments in environmental, social and corporate governance policies by making efforts to adopt a soft law approach, which has been effective in encouraging companies to embrace ESG practices and address the diversity of boards of directors, say Akira Karasawa and Landry Guesdon at Iwata Godo.
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How And Why Your Firm Should Implement Fixed-Fee Billing
Amid rising burnout in the legal industry and client efforts to curtail spending, pivoting to a fixed-fee billing model may improve client-attorney relationships and offer lawyers financial, logistical and stress relief — while still maintaining profit margins, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.
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A Case For The Green Investment Regime Under The ECT
The EU and U.K.'s potential plans to exit the Energy Charter Treaty, which has been criticized as protecting fossil fuel investments to the detriment of energy transition, ignore the significant strides taken to modernize the treaty and its ability to promote investment in cleaner energy forms, say Amy Frey and Simon Maynard at King & Spalding.
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Opinion
Judicial Independence Needs Defense Amid Political Threats
Amid recent and historic challenges to the judiciary from political forces, safeguarding judicial independence and maintaining the integrity of the legal system is increasingly urgent, says Robert Peck at the Center for Constitutional Litigation.
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How Law Firms Can Use Account-Based Marketing Strategies
Amid several evolving legal industry trends, account-based marketing can help law firms uncover additional revenue-generating opportunities with existing clients, with key considerations ranging from data analytics to relationship building, say Jennifer Ramsey at stage LLC and consultant Gina Sponzilli.
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Leveraging Municipal Bonds For Green Energy Finance
The U.S.'s transition to renewable energy will require collaboration between public and private capital sources — and that means that lawyers used to working in corporate finance must understand how the municipal bond market functions differently, due to its grounding in the U.S. Constitution, says Ann Fillingham at Dykema.
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Mitigating Costs And Delays In The Energy Transition
Achieving net-zero will require constructing a massive amount of new wind, solar and energy storage infrastructure — and while cost overruns and delays are to be expected, contractors and owners can proactively address these problems in their project documents, say Christopher Ryan and Jesse Sherrett at Shearman.