Energy

  • November 04, 2024

    US IPO Activity Hits Standstill As Election Takes Center Stage

    U.S. initial public offerings have screeched to a halt amid peak election season, and dealmakers expect new listings to largely remain iced until next year as market participants sort out ramifications of Tuesday's presidential and congressional contests.

  • November 04, 2024

    Supreme Court Won't Hear Apache's Mining Regs Dispute

    The U.S. Supreme Court will let stand a ruling that sides with a state environmental agency's decision to let a copper mining company discharge untreated wastewater into a creek that's considered sacred to an Arizona Indigenous community.

  • November 01, 2024

    Ex-Nuclear Worker Fired Over Drug Test Is Denied Rehearing

    A Mississippi federal judge said he won't allow a former nuclear engineer for Entergy Operations Inc. to proceed with a wrongful termination lawsuit accusing the company of tampering with drug tests as retaliation for his refusing to falsify safety reports, decrying his arguments as "conjecture, speculation" and "conclusory allegations."

  • November 01, 2024

    DC Circ. Questions Enviro Groups On Renewable Fuels Rules

    Judges on the D.C. Circuit on Friday morning pressed attorneys for environmental groups challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's 2023-2025 renewable fuel standards, questioning their claims that the federal government didn't do enough to assess the standards' potential impacts on water quality and certain species.

  • November 01, 2024

    Fracking Services Co. Nitro Gets OK For $3M Equipment Sale

    Oil and gas fracking services provider Nitro Fluids LLC received approval Friday for a $3.25 million sale of some of its assets to stalking-horse bidder KLX Energy Services LLC.

  • November 01, 2024

    Enviro Groups, Tribes Sue Over Nev. Lithium Mine Approval

    Environmental and tribal groups slapped the U.S. Department of the Interior with a complaint in Nevada federal court seeking to upend the agency's authorization of the Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Mine, arguing the project will drive a rare wildflower into extinction.

  • November 01, 2024

    Oil Group, Enviro Orgs Clash Over Offshore Drilling Plan

    Environmental groups and the American Petroleum Institute filed sparring briefs in an appeal before the D.C. Circuit over the U.S. Department of the Interior's 2024-2029 offshore oil and gas leasing program, each arguing that the agency wasn't legally obligated to satisfy the other's demands.

  • November 01, 2024

    FERC In Position To Ride Out Any Election Day Upheaval

    The ongoing work of a reloaded Federal Energy Regulatory Commission isn't likely to be disturbed by a new president in the White House next year, although FERC watchers say concerns that a Trump administration could challenge the agency's historic independence can't be brushed off.

  • November 01, 2024

    2024 Election Could Be Crossroads For Clean Energy Funding

    Election Day will present a multibillion-dollar fork in the road for the energy industry and its reliance on the federal government to help fund its decarbonization efforts, energy attorneys say.

  • November 01, 2024

    Dentons, Boies Schiller Want Out Of 'Absurd' $300M RICO Suit

    Dentons and Boies Schiller Flexner LLP have asked a Manhattan federal court to toss a $300 million racketeering lawsuit brought against them by a former client and his companies following what they called a botched power plant contract in Senegal, with Dentons further requesting Rule 11 sanctions against the plaintiffs and their counsel for bringing "frivolous" claims.

  • November 01, 2024

    UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

    This past week in London has seen two industry magnates take on the Gambling Commission, Ordinance Survey hit with a claim from a Swiss GPS maker, and China's largest oil company PetroChina face a claim from a Polish documentary maker. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • November 01, 2024

    Denver Gas Co. Settles Misclassifcation, Overtime Suit

    A Denver-based oil and gas producer reached a confidential settlement with the geologist who claimed in a proposed collective action that the company owed workers overtime after misclassifying them as independent contractors.

  • November 01, 2024

    Ex-Gas Co. Worker Seeks Justices Review On 'Honest Belief'

    A former mechanic for a Baltimore gas company has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Fourth Circuit decision that found it was not discriminatory for his ex-employer to fire him over an issue with time off under the Family and Medical Leave Act because the company believed he took the leave dishonestly.

  • October 31, 2024

    $268K Fee Challenge Nixed In 9th Circ. Chevron Award Suit

    The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday refused to reconsider its order slapping a six-figure fine against a Seattle attorney for fabricating a news article to bolster his clients' efforts to enforce an allegedly fraudulent $18 billion arbitral award against Chevron, effectively ending the long-running saga for now.

  • October 31, 2024

    Tribal Nonprofit Says Employees Divulged Trade Secrets

    A Native American nonprofit is suing an Oregon environmental consulting firm, alleging that its founder and chief executive officer divulged the trade secrets information of tribes and others and made false accusations to donors that it was mismanaging funds.

  • October 31, 2024

    Ex-Conn. Utility Execs Must Report To Prison, Judge Orders

    The former CEO of the Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative and two ex-board members must report to prison by Dec. 4, a federal judge has ordered, after the Second Circuit upheld their convictions over their roles in the theft of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

  • October 31, 2024

    Dallas Judge Kicks 2022 Energy Case Out Of Biz Court

    A Dallas business court judge sent a multimillion-dollar energy dispute back to state district court this week, marking the first time a Texas Business Court judge has weighed in on whether cases in existence before the court's opening could be litigated in the new venue.

  • October 31, 2024

    Madigan Ally Set Up Work For Speaker's Fired Aide, Jury Told

    An ex-lobbyist on trial alongside former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan made arrangements for a political operative that Madigan fired to receive monthly payments while he was unemployed, suggesting he enter into contracts with loyal lobbyists and write up reports on legislators "in case the IRS checks this out," a federal jury heard Thursday.

  • October 31, 2024

    2nd Circ. Backs GE's Win In Ex-Exec's Benefits Denial Suit

    The Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal Thursday of a former General Electric executive's suit claiming the company should have awarded her pension and stock benefits when it moved her into an independent contractor role, ruling that her claims were filed too late.

  • October 31, 2024

    Chubb Says No Coverage For Texas Chemical Explosion Suits

    Two Chubb units told a Texas federal court Thursday they owe no coverage to Team Industrial Services Inc. for two lawsuits seeking to hold it liable for injuries from an explosion at a chemical plant, arguing a pollution exclusion applies because a release of a chemical caused the explosion.

  • October 31, 2024

    Valero To Pay 'Historic' $82M Fine For Bay Area Air Pollution

    Valero Refining Co. will pay a record $82 million penalty to settle claims that it failed to report cancer-causing emissions from its Northern California petroleum refinery for nearly two decades, state and Bay Area air pollution regulators announced Thursday, saying nearly all of the fine will fund local community projects.

  • October 31, 2024

    Enviros Call On EPA To Address Petcoke Plant Water Pollution

    A dozen environmental groups filed a petition Thursday demanding the EPA implement national water pollution standards for petroleum coke processing plants, which they said have slipped through the Clean Water Act's protections.

  • October 31, 2024

    What DOJ's New National Security Obsession Means For Attys

    The Justice Department’s emerging criminal crackdown on corporate national security violations is putting increased pressure on white collar lawyers to be conversant, if not experts, on opaque, complex and swiftly evolving regulations.

  • October 31, 2024

    Exxon Entitled To Interest Deduction On Qatar Deal

    Exxon Mobil is entitled to an interest expense deduction on payments to Qatar under a natural gas deal, a Texas federal judge ruled, rejecting the U.S. government's classification of an underlying transaction as a royalty rather than a loan.

  • October 31, 2024

    Mexican Shipping Co. Fined For Concealing Discharges

    Mexican company Gremex Shipping SA de CV pled guilty in a Florida federal court and was sentenced to pay a $1.75 million fine for falsifying records to conceal unlawful discharges of oily bilge waste, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.

Expert Analysis

  • What Hawaii High Court Got Right And Wrong In AIG Ruling

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    Though the Hawaii Supreme Court in its recent Aloha Petroleum v. National Union Fire Insurance decision correctly adopted the majority rule that recklessly caused harm is an accident for coverage purposes, it erred in its interpretation of the pollution exclusion by characterizing climate change as "traditional environmental pollution," say attorneys at Haynes Boone.

  • Series

    Beekeeping Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The practice of patent law and beekeeping are not typically associated, but taking care of honeybees has enriched my legal practice by highlighting the importance of hands-on experience, continuous learning, mentorship and more, says David Longo at Oblon McClelland.

  • Useful Product Doctrine May Not Shield Against PFAS Liability

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    Courts have recognized that companies transferring hazardous recycled materials can defeat liability under environmental laws by showing they were selling a useful product — but new laws in California and elsewhere restricting the sale of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances may change the legal landscape, says Kyle Girouard at Dickinson Wright.

  • Opinion

    It's Time To Sound The Alarm About Lost Labor Rights

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    In the Fifth Circuit, recent rulings from judges appointed by former President Donald Trump have dismantled workers’ core labor rights, a troubling trend that we cannot risk extending under another Trump administration, say Sharon Block and Raj Nayak at the Center for Labor and a Just Economy.

  • CFTC Anti-Fraud Blitz Is A Warning To Carbon Credit Sellers

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    With its recent enforcement actions against a carbon offset project developer and its senior executives for reporting false information about the energy savings of the company's projects, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is staking out its position as a primary regulator in the voluntary carbon credit market, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Opinion

    Legal Institutions Must Warn Against Phony Election Suits

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    With two weeks until the election, bar associations and courts have an urgent responsibility to warn lawyers about the consequences of filing unsubstantiated lawsuits claiming election fraud, says Elise Bean at the Carl Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy.

  • How Cos. Can Build A Strong In-House Pro Bono Program

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    During this year’s pro bono celebration week, companies should consider some key pointers to grow and maintain a vibrant in-house program for attorneys to provide free legal services for the public good, says Mary Benton at Alston & Bird.

  • Series

    Home Canning Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Making my own pickles and jams requires seeing a process through from start to finish, as does representing clients from the start of a dispute at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board through any appeals to the Federal Circuit, says attorney Kevin McNish.

  • A Narrow Window Of Opportunity To Fix Energy Transmission

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    A post-election effort of the coming lame-duck congressional session may be the only possibility to pass bipartisan legislation to solve the national grid's capacity deficiencies, which present the greatest impediment to realizing state and federal energy transition and emissions reduction goals, says David Smith at Manatt.

  • How Project 2025 Could Upend Federal ESG Policies

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    If implemented, Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation's policy playbook for a Republican presidential administration, would likely seek to deploy antitrust law to target ESG initiatives, limit pension fund managers' focus to pecuniary factors and spell doom for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate rule, say attorneys at Mintz.

  • Key Insurance Implications Of Hawaii's Historic GHG Ruling

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    In Aloha Petroleum v. National Union Fire Insurance, the Hawaii Supreme Court became the first state court to classify greenhouse gasses as pollutants barred from insurance coverage, a ruling likely to be afforded great weight by courts across the country, say Scott Seaman and Gar Lauerman at Hinshaw & Culbertson.

  • Use The Right Kind Of Feedback To Help Gen Z Attorneys

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    Generation Z associates bring unique perspectives and expectations to the workplace, so it’s imperative that supervising attorneys adapt their feedback approach in order to help young lawyers learn and grow — which is good for law firms, too, says Rachael Bosch at Fringe Professional Development.

  • Opinion

    Congress Can And Must Enact A Supreme Court Ethics Code

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    As public confidence in the U.S. Supreme Court dips to historic lows following reports raising conflict of interest concerns, Congress must exercise its constitutional power to enact a mandatory and enforceable code of ethics for the high court, says Muhammad Faridi, president of the New York City Bar Association.

  • Perspectives

    Pop Culture Docket: Justice Lebovits On Gilbert And Sullivan

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    Characters in the 19th century comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan break the rules of good lawyering by shamelessly throwing responsible critical thought to the wind, providing hilarious lessons for lawyers and judges on how to avoid a surfeit of traps and tribulations, say acting New York Supreme Court Justice Gerald Lebovits and law student Tara Scown.

  • With Esmark Case, SEC Returns Focus To Tender Offer Rules

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent enforcement action against Esmark in connection with its failed bid to acquire U.S. Steel indicates the SEC's renewed attention under Rule 14e‑8 of the Exchange Act on offerors' financial resources as a measure of the veracity of their tender offer communications, say attorneys at MoFo.

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