Energy

  • March 18, 2025

    NRC Says Texas Reactor Licensing Suit Is In The Wrong Court

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission wants a Texas federal judge to toss a lawsuit claiming the agency doesn't have the authority to license small-scale nuclear reactors, saying not only is the suit meritless, but it was also brought in the wrong court.

  • March 18, 2025

    Mistrial Declared In Magnet Co. Export Control Violation Case

    A Kentucky federal judge has declared a mistrial in a case accusing Quadrant Magnetics LLC of violating export control law by sending schematics from military contractors to Chinese companies, finding that the government withheld relevant documents from the company.

  • March 18, 2025

    BlackRock Calls Red States' Suit Over Coal Prices 'Farfetched'

    BlackRock Inc. and two other large asset managers have urged a Texas federal judge to toss claims brought by a coalition of Republican-led states alleging the firms ran a scheme to drive up coal prices as part of an "investment cartel," saying the case "spins a farfetched theory."

  • March 18, 2025

    Trustee Files 2nd Suit Over Fuel Co. Execs' Alleged Looting

    The bankruptcy trustee of failed fuel distributor Mountain Express Oil Co. has filed a second lawsuit over its alleged financial mismanagement, accusing its former top executives of using a host of associated companies to loot its assets as the company spiraled toward insolvency.

  • March 18, 2025

    Haynes Boone Enviro Group Adds 'Relatable' EPA Atty In Dallas

    Haynes Boone has bulked up its environmental practice group with a partner in Dallas who brings nearly a decade of experience as a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lawyer, the firm said this week.

  • March 18, 2025

    11th Circ. Upholds GE Arb. In Algerian Power Plant Lawsuit

    An Eleventh Circuit panel on Tuesday affirmed a lower court's ruling forcing reinsurers of an Algerian power plant into arbitration over a $28 million turbine failure, saying the plant's owner ultimately benefited from the services contract between General Electric and the plant operator.

  • March 18, 2025

    Simpson Thacher Gains Securitization Expert In NY

    A former Vinson & Elkins LLP aviation finance practice co-head has joined Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP as a New York partner, the firm said Tuesday.

  • March 18, 2025

    Pa. Shell Plant Workers Get Cert. For Commute Time Suit

    Hundreds of contractors who helped build Shell's petrochemical plant in Western Pennsylvania can be represented in a lawsuit seeking pay for extra time they spent being shuttled between the worksite and satellite parking, after a federal judge granted class certification Tuesday.

  • March 17, 2025

    Australian Miner Claims $42.7M Win In Congo Lithium Dispute

    An Australian mining company says it has won a €39.1 million ($42.7 million) award from the International Chamber of Commerce's arbitration court stemming from its ownership dispute with a Congolese majority state-owned lithium mining entity.

  • March 17, 2025

    Toyota Seeks Exit From Investors' Emission Tests Fraud Suit

    Toyota Motor Corp. has asked a California federal judge to dump a proposed class action alleging it deceived investors by failing to thoroughly investigate reports of falsified vehicle certification data, saying the plaintiffs have twisted executives' public statements to inflate their securities fraud claims.

  • March 17, 2025

    Exxon Committed 'Straightforward Fraud,' Investors Say

    Exxon Mobil Corp. investors told a Texas federal court that the energy giant's antics surrounding its operations in Kearl Lake amount to a "straightforward fraud," and that the court should reject Exxon's bid for judgment as a matter of law.

  • March 17, 2025

    Wash. AG Backs Tribe's $400M Trespass Win Against BNSF

    The state of Washington has said the Ninth Circuit should uphold a trial judge's ruling that BNSF Railway Co. owes nearly $400 million for years of illegally running oil cars across tribal territory, arguing in an amicus brief the railroad must be held accountable for perpetuating "a pattern of disregard for the sovereignty of Native people."

  • March 17, 2025

    Energy Co. Urges FERC To End $1B Enforcement Case

    An energy efficiency aggregator on Monday urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to drop its pursuit of nearly $1 billion in penalties for disputed market manipulation and tariff violations, an enforcement case the company has already asked a federal judge to declare unconstitutional.

  • March 17, 2025

    Split 9th Circ. Won't Halt Federal Workers Reinstatement Order

    A divided Ninth Circuit panel on Monday denied President Donald Trump's administration an immediate administrative stay of a California district court order requiring reinstatement of some probationary federal workers fired from six agencies, the majority saying a pause "would disrupt the status quo and turn it on its head."

  • March 17, 2025

    Union, Green Groups Fight EPA Bid To Redo Biden TSCA Rule

    Labor unions and green groups are asking the D.C. Circuit to reject the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's bid to reconsider a Biden-era rule that strengthened regulations to assess chemicals' health and environmental risks.

  • March 17, 2025

    FERC Grid Upgrade Fight Has DC Circ. Judges Flummoxed

    D.C. Circuit judges appeared to struggle Monday with how to determine ownership of new grid upgrades needed for a Michigan solar farm as they consider a transmission company's challenge to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's refusal to grant it sole ownership.

  • March 17, 2025

    NJ Offshore Wind Farm Permit Pulled Over Trump Orders

    An environmental permit for a wind power facility off the New Jersey shore has been sent back to regulators for reconsideration in light of President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily halting all offshore wind leases for review, according to a federal environmental appeals board order.

  • March 17, 2025

    Chevron Buys 5% Of Hess With 'Confidence' In Merger Close

    Chevron Corp. disclosed Monday that it has purchased 4.99% of Hess Corp.'s outstanding common stock, a move that signals the oil giant's "continuing confidence" in completing its pending $53 billion acquisition of Hess despite ongoing arbitration challenges.

  • March 17, 2025

    Activist Investor Calls For Reconstitution Of Parkland's Board

    Activist hedge fund Engine Capital on Monday called for a comprehensive reconstitution of Calgary, Alberta-based Parkland Corp.'s board of directors, saying that the current board has overseen "meaningful underperformance" and demonstrated "zero interest" in engaging with its shareholders.

  • March 17, 2025

    High Value Dubious In $23M Easement Dispute, 11th Circ. Told

    A partnership that claimed a $23 million tax deduction for a conservation easement donation failed to consider the lack of market demand for a potential quarry it used to justify the land's high value, the U.S. government told the Eleventh Circuit.

  • March 17, 2025

    Brightmark Puts Indiana Plastic Recycling Plant Into Ch. 11

    Recycling company Brightmark LLC has put certain units into bankruptcy in Delaware in order to keep its Indiana plastics processing center operational as it pursues a sale.

  • March 14, 2025

    ExxonMobil Brings $14M Clean Air Act Suit To High Court

    ExxonMobil on Friday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn both a "radically divided" en banc Fifth Circuit's opinion upholding $14.25 million in air pollution penalties as well as a decades-old high court ruling concerning redressability, saying it was being made to pay penalties environmental group plaintiffs won't even receive.

  • March 14, 2025

    Judge Backs Conn. Utility's $2M Enviro Penalty In Rate Hike Row

    An Avangrid Inc. unit must suffer a roughly $2 million annual penalty for failing to remediate pollution at the defunct English Station power plant in New Haven, Connecticut, a judge has ruled as part of a broader order that upholds most of the state utility regulator's decision to slash a requested $131 million rate hike.

  • March 14, 2025

    Md. Judge Joins Calif. In Reversing Federal Workers' Firing

    A Maryland federal judge has ordered the reinstatement of thousands of probationary employees who were abruptly fired from 18 federal agencies, saying the Trump administration's lack of required notice left states "scrambling" to pick up the pieces.

  • March 14, 2025

    Coal Co. Asks To Halt Hong Kong Arbitration In Shipping Row

    A Pennsylvania coal company has urged a Virginia federal court to halt arbitration initiated in Hong Kong by a British shipping company over an onboard explosion during a shipment, saying it never agreed to arbitrate any disputes.

Expert Analysis

  • After CEQ's Rollback, Fate Of NEPA May Be In Justices' Hands

    Author Photo

    The White House Council on Environmental Quality recently announced its intention to rescind its own National Environmental Policy Act regulations, causing additional burdens to existing NEPA challenges, and raising questions for regulated entities and federal agencies that may only be resolved by a pending U.S. Supreme Court case, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Making The Case For Rest In The Legal Profession

    Author Photo

    For too long, a culture of overwork has plagued the legal profession, but research shows that attorneys need rest to perform optimally and sustainably, so legal organizations and individuals must implement strategies that allow for restoration, says Marissa Alert at MDA Wellness, Carol Ross-Burnett at CRB Global, and Denise Robinson at The Still Center.

  • 4 Ways Women Attorneys Can Build A Legal Legacy

    Author Photo

    This Women’s History Month, women attorneys should consider what small, day-to-day actions they can take to help leave a lasting impact for future generations, even if it means mentoring one person or taking 10 minutes to make a plan, says Jackie Prester, a former shareholder at Baker Donelson.

  • Decoding Arbitral Disputes: Fiscal Liability Vs. Int'l Investment

    Author Photo

    The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes' award in Amec Foster Wheeler USA v. Colombia, upholding the country's jurisdictional objections, exemplifies the growing tension between domestic regulatory measures and international investment protections, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray's Inn Square Chambers.

  • Cleanup Claim Characterization Key For Timeliness Inquiry

    Author Photo

    The Tenth Circuit's recent ruling in Atlantic Richfield Co. v. NL Industries, determining that ARCO's contribution claim was timely, highlights the importance of accurately characterizing a claim for recoupment of environmental cleanup costs as a cost-recovery action or contribution to avoid dismissal or recharacterization of the claim, say attorneys at Spencer Fane.

  • A Judge's Pointers For Adding Spice To Dry Legal Writing

    Author Photo

    U.S. District Judge Fred Biery shares a few key lessons about how to go against the grain of the legal writing tradition by adding color to bland judicial opinions, such as by telling a human story and injecting literary devices where possible.

  • Steering Clear Of US Sanctions While Paying Pirates Ransom

    Author Photo

    Maritime operators, insurers and financial institutions must exercise extreme caution when making ransom payments related to Somali piracy, as the payments could trigger primary and secondary sanctions enforcement by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, says Chelsea Ellis at LMD Trade Law.

  • 6th Circ. Ruling Paves Path Out Of Loper Bright 'Twilight Zone'

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright ruling created a twilight zone between express statutory delegations that trigger agency deference and implicit ones that do not, but the Sixth Circuit’s recent ruling in Moctezuma-Reyes v. Garland crafted a two-part test for resolving cases within this gray area, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • What FERC Scrutiny Of Directors, Assets Means For Investors

    Author Photo

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has recently paid dramatically increased attention to appointments of power company directors by investors, and ownership of vertical assets that provide inputs for electric power production and sale — so investors in FERC-regulated entities should be paying more attention to these matters as well, say attorneys at Day Pitney.

  • CO2 Oil Recovery Vs. Carbon Capture: Key Legal Differences

    Author Photo

    As more states seek primacy over carbon capture and storage wells, it is increasingly important for companies to understand the regulations surrounding CCS, and how they differ from the arguably less complex legal framework for the closely related technology of carbon dioxide-enhanced oil recovery, says Sarah Milocco at Husch Blackwell.

  • Steps For Federal Grantees Affected By Stop-Work Orders

    Author Photo

    Broad changes in federal financial assistance programs are on the horizon, and organizations that may receive a stop-work order from a federal agency must prepare to be vigilant and nimble in a highly uncertain legal landscape, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • Recent Cases Suggest ESG Means 'Ever-Shifting Guidelines'

    Author Photo

    U.S. courts have recently handed down a number of contradictory decisions on important environmental, social and governance issues, adding to an already complex mix of conflicting political priorities, new laws and changing regulatory guidance — but there are steps that companies can take to minimize risk, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.

  • Navigating The Uncertain Future Of The Superfund PFAS Rule

    Author Photo

    The D.C. Circuit's recent grant of a pause in litigation while the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reviews the Biden-era designation of two per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances as "hazardous" under the Superfund law creates new uncertainty for companies — but more lawsuits are likely as long as the rule remains in effect, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • What To Know About Insurance Coverage For Greenwashing

    Author Photo

    As the number of public and private lawsuits relating to greenwashing dramatically grows, risk managers of companies making environmental claims should look to several types of insurance for coverage in the event of a suit, say attorneys at Hunton.

  • 7 Tips For Associates To Thrive In Hybrid Work Environments

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
    Author Photo

    As the vast majority of law firms have embraced some type of hybrid work policy, associates should consider a few strategies to get the most out of both their in-person and remote workdays, says James Argionis at Cozen O’Connor.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!