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Energy
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August 21, 2024
Signal Peak Can't Hasten DOI's Coal Mine Review, Judge Says
A D.C. federal judge ruled Wednesday that it would be premature to order federal regulators to speed up their environmental review of Signal Peak Energy LLC's planned expansion of a Montana coal mine, saying the federal government still has time to make good on its deadlines.
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August 21, 2024
EPA Urges 8th Circ. Not To Delay Power Plant Effluent Rule
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and green groups on Tuesday asked the Eighth Circuit not to block the implementation of a rule that set new wastewater standards for coal-fired power plants, as utility companies, trade groups and nearly two dozen states that oppose the rule have urged.
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August 21, 2024
Arch Resources, Consol Energy To Form $5.2B Energy Giant
Latham & Watkins LLP attorneys guided Arch Resources Inc. in its all-stock merger with Consol Energy Inc. on Wednesday to create a new natural resources company dubbed Core Natural Resources with a market capitalization of approximately $5.2 billion.
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August 21, 2024
Scrap Metal Dealer Cops To Converter Theft Conspiracy
A North Carolina scrap metal dealer has pled guilty to theft and tax charges associated with a catalytic converter theft conspiracy spanning several states, the Department of Justice announced Tuesday.
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August 21, 2024
3 Firms Guide $950M Delaware Basin Gas Treatment Deal
Houston-based energy providerEnterprise Partners LP has agreed to purchase Pinon Midstream, a natural gas treatment company focused on the Delaware Basin, for $950 million in cash, the companies said Wednesday.
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August 21, 2024
Alaska Seeks Pause In Mining Row Suit With EPA
The state of Alaska is calling on a district court judge to pause litigation accusing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of unlawfully prohibiting development of the Pebble mineral deposit in the southwestern region of the state, while the agency attempts to withhold documents from the public.
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August 21, 2024
Judge Says Debtor Plan Will Get Hearing In Eletson Ch. 11
A New York bankruptcy judge Wednesday said he will give a hearing to all three Chapter 11 plans proposed for shipping company Eletson Holdings, rejecting arguments that the creditor voting results spell the end of Eletson's proposal.
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August 21, 2024
7 Firms Build $175M All-Stock Sale Of Bitcoin Mining Biz
Bitcoin data center company Bitfarms Ltd. on Wednesday announced plans to buy Stronghold Digital Mining Inc. in an all-stock merger valued at roughly $175 million and built by seven law firms.
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August 21, 2024
Ex-Venezuelan Oil Employee Pleads Guilty To Sanctions Plot
The former procurement head at Petróleos de Venezuela SA, Venezuela's state-owned oil company, pled guilty to conspiring to obtain millions of dollars' worth of U.S. aircraft parts for the business, in violation of U.S. sanctions.
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August 21, 2024
La. Plaintiffs Ask 5th Circ. To Revive BP Spill Malpractice Deal
Louisiana residents who sued their attorneys, alleging they botched damage claims tied to the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, have asked the Fifth Circuit to reconsider a panel's ruling that overturned enforcement of a global settlement.
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August 20, 2024
Billionaire To Seek High Court Review In Peru Pollution Case
U.S. billionaire Ira Rennert wants the U.S. Supreme Court to review a published Eighth Circuit decision greenlighting a long-running case over environmental damage at a Peruvian metallurgical complex in order to resolve a circuit split on the international comity doctrine, according to documents filed Monday.
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August 20, 2024
Gulf Spill Review 'Underestimated' Enviro Risks, Court Says
A National Marine Fisheries Service review of the effects of oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico violates federal law, a Maryland federal judge ruled, agreeing with the Sierra Club and other environmental groups that the agency underestimated the risks to endangered and threatened marine species.
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August 20, 2024
Feds Say Chevron Doesn't Change Auto Standards Litigation
The federal government told the D.C. Circuit that the U.S. Supreme Court's opinion axing federal agency deference doesn't aid Republican-led states' and industry's attempt to undermine tighter greenhouse gas emissions standards for vehicles.
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August 20, 2024
Ariz. Tribe Wins Pause Of Lithium Project Construction
An Arizona federal judge has granted the Hualapai Indian Tribe's bid for a temporary restraining order in its lawsuit seeking to halt U.S. government approval of a lithium exploration project that it says threatens the life of a sacred medical spring used for cultural and religious purposes.
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August 20, 2024
Colo. Justices To Hear Claims-Clock Debate In Xcel Death Suit
The Colorado Supreme Court said Monday it would hear an appeal by Xcel Energy and a city over whether the deadline for an accident victim's father to sue started when his daughter was hit by a car or when she died weeks later.
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August 20, 2024
Duke Energy Wants 4th Circ. Rethink On Antitrust 'Haven'
Duke Energy sought a full Fourth Circuit rehearing Monday against a panel decision reviving NTE Energy Services' antitrust lawsuit, arguing the panel upended decades of U.S. Supreme Court precedent and risked making the circuit a space for plaintiffs to "escape" those rules.
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August 20, 2024
Investor Says DC Circ. Arbitration Ruling Boosts Spain Cases
A Dutch renewable energy investor vying to enforce multimillion-euro arbitration awards against Spain told the D.C. federal court that a recent ruling from the D.C. Circuit holding that district courts have jurisdiction to enforce foreign arbitral awards against Spain means that the investor's awards should be confirmed.
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August 20, 2024
Co. Says No License Needed To Dispute $1B DOD Fuel Deal
A company alleging a $1 billion Defense Logistics Agency African fuel supply contract effectively requires bribery to secure has told the Court of Federal Claims it can protest the deal despite lacking a local license, saying the license wasn't necessary for the contracted work.
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August 20, 2024
Energy Department Says Dishwasher Case Lacks Jurisdiction
The U.S. Department of Energy says anyone who wants to challenge a new rule governing how efficiently household appliances need to manage water usage must do so in a circuit court, claiming a Texas federal court lacks jurisdiction to hear the case.
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August 20, 2024
Utah Tells Justices Feds Must Relinquish Land In State
The federal government is unconstitutionally hoarding and profiting from public lands in Utah, and the state is missing out on economic and development opportunities that are rightfully its own, it told the U.S. Supreme Court in a proposed lawsuit filed Tuesday.
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August 20, 2024
EPA Urges DC Circ. To Uphold Particulate Matter Rule
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is defending its decision to ratchet down a fine particulate matter air pollution standard, telling the D.C. Circuit that states and industry groups challenging it aren't seriously questioning the scientific support for the change and misread the Clean Air Act to argue that the agency overstepped.
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August 20, 2024
DOI Issues 1st Floating Offshore Wind Energy Lease
The U.S. Department of the Interior on Monday announced its first-ever floating offshore wind energy research lease, which will allow for up to 12 floating wind turbines off the coast of Maine.
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August 20, 2024
Ga. Power Says Factory Redo Can't Free Nestle From Service
Georgia's largest electricity provider tried to convince the state's high court Tuesday that a pet food manufacturer can't use its factory renovations to skirt a nearly 50-year-old state law requiring large electricity consumers to be wedded to a single provider in perpetuity.
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August 20, 2024
Power Plant Rule Stay Is Unwarranted, EPA Tells Justices
U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar called on the U.S. Supreme Court to reject industry groups' and Republican-led states' attempts to block the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's rule curbing greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, saying the agency did not exceed its statutory authority.
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August 20, 2024
States, Coal Cos. Seek High Court Block Of EPA Mercury Rule
A group of red states and coal companies have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse the D.C. Circuit's decision allowing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to implement a mercury air pollution rule while their legal challenges play out.
Expert Analysis
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Emerging Trends In ESG-Focused Securities Litigation
Based on a combination of shareholder pressure, increasing regulatory scrutiny and proposed rulemaking, there has been a proliferation of litigation over public company disclosures and actions regarding environmental, social, and governance factors — and the overall volume of such class actions will likely increase in the coming years, say attorneys at Mintz.
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Firms Must Rethink How They Train New Lawyers In AI Age
As law firms begin to use generative artificial intelligence to complete lower-level legal tasks, they’ll need to consider new ways to train summer associates and early-career attorneys, keeping in mind the five stages of skill acquisition, says Liisa Thomas at Sheppard Mullin.
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What Alternative Fuel Proposals Mean For EU Infrastructure
The European Union’s proposed Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Facility, covering activities in the transport sectors supporting the decarbonization process, sets ambitious standards regarding the deployment of adequate supply infrastructure and offers new funding opportunities for port operators and shipowners, says Christian Bauer at Watson Farley.
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Cyber Takeaways For Cos. From Verizon Data Breach Report
Camilo Artiga-Purcell at Kiteworks analyzes the key findings of the 2024 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report from a legal perspective, examining the implications for organizations' cybersecurity strategies and compliance efforts.
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'Energy Communities' Update May Clarify Tax Credit Eligibility
A recent IRS notice that includes updated lists of locations where clean energy projects can qualify for additional tax credits — based 2023 unemployment data and placed-in-service dates — should help provide clarity regarding project eligibility that sponsors and developers need, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Always Be Closing
When a lawyer presents their case with the right propulsive structure throughout trial, there is little need for further argument after the close of evidence — and in fact, rehashing it all may test jurors’ patience — so attorneys should consider other strategies for closing arguments, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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How A Bumblebee Got Under Calif. Wildlife Regulator's Bonnet
A California bumblebee's listing as an endangered species could lead to a regulatory quagmire as California Department of Fish and Wildlife permits now routinely include survey requirements for the bee, but the regulator has yet to determine what the species needs for conservation, says David Smith at Manatt.
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Wiretap Use In Cartel Probes Likely To Remain An Exception
Although the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division has recently signaled interest in wiretaps, the use of this technology to capture evidence of antitrust conspiracies and pursue monopolization as a criminal matter has been rare historically, and is likely to remain so, say Carsten Reichel and Will Conway at DLA Piper.
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Series
Playing Chess Makes Me A Better Lawyer
There are many ways that chess skills translate directly into lawyer skills, but for me, the bigger career lessons go beyond the direct parallels — playing chess has shown me the value of seeing gradual improvement in and focusing deep concentration on a nonwork endeavor, says attorney Steven Fink.
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State Procurement Could Be Key For Calif. Offshore Wind
A recent ruling from the California Public Utilities Commission highlights how the state's centralized electricity procurement mechanism could play a critical role in the development of long lead-time resources — in particular, offshore wind — by providing market assurance to developers and reducing utilities' procurement risks, say attorneys at Wilson Sonsini.
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Patent Lessons From 7 Federal Circuit Reversals In May
A look at recent cases where the Federal Circuit reversed or vacated decisions by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board or a federal district court provide guidance on how to succeed on appeal by clarifying the obviousness analysis of design patents, the finality of a judgment, and more, say Denise De Mory and Li Guo at Bunsow De Mory.
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Litigation Inspiration: Attys Can Be Heroic Like Olympians
Although litigation won’t earn anyone an Olympic medal in Paris this summer, it can be worthy of the same lasting honor if attorneys exercise focused restraint — seeking both their clients’ interests and those of the court — instead of merely pursuing every advantage short of sanctionable conduct, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.
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A Deep Dive Into The Evolving World Of ESG Ratings
Attorneys at Mintz discuss the salience of environmental, social and governance ratings in corporate circles in recent years, and consider certain methodologies underlying their calculation for professionals, as well as issues concerning the ESG ratings and products themselves.
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Updated Federal Rules Can Improve Product Liability MDLs
The recent amendment of a federal evidence rule regarding expert testimony and the proposal of a civil rule on managing early discovery in multidistrict legislation hold great promise for promoting the uniform and efficient processes that high-stakes product liability cases particularly need, say Alan Klein and William Heaston at Duane Morris.
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Lean Into The 'Great Restoration' To Retain Legal Talent
As the “great resignation,” in which employees voluntarily left their jobs in droves, has largely dissipated, legal employers should now work toward the idea of a “great restoration,” adopting strategies to effectively hire, onboard and retain top legal talent, says Molly McGrath at Hiring & Empowering Solutions.