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Energy
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July 18, 2024
Term Extension For Ga. Utility Commish Unlawful, Suit Says
Georgia's Secretary of State was hit with a lawsuit Tuesday from a voter and two advocacy groups challenging a recent law that extended the terms of the state's utility regulatory commission while their elections were suspended by voting rights litigation.
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July 18, 2024
6th Circ. Looks To Wash Hands Of Waters Of US Appeal
An exasperated Sixth Circuit panel on Thursday looked for an easy way to dispatch Kentucky and industry groups' appeal of the dismissal of their challenges to a federal government rule defining the scope of the Clean Water Act.
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July 18, 2024
Refiner, Distributor To Pay $1M Fine In EPA Biofuel Case
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Thursday that it has slapped an Arizona-based petroleum products company and its affiliate with a more than $1 million civil penalty for violations of the Clean Air Act's conventional and renewable fuel requirements.
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July 18, 2024
Consumers Hit CenterPoint With 2nd Class Action Over Beryl
CenterPoint Energy Inc. has been hit with a second proposed class action over widespread power outages in the Houston area following Hurricane Beryl, this time from consumers in the Houston-Galveston area who were impacted by the storm.
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July 18, 2024
Blank Rome Adds Reed Smith Trio In Houston, Pittsburgh
A team of three former Reed Smith attorneys specializing in financial transactions in the energy sector have recently moved their practices to Blank Rome LLP's Houston and Pittsburgh offices.
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July 18, 2024
Another Enphase Investor Suit Claims Execs Hid Slow Growth
Enphase Energy's top brass has been slapped with another shareholder complaint in California federal court, alleging they misrepresented the energy technology company's financial outlook by concealing a decrease in battery shipments and slower manufacturing outputs, which artificially inflated its stock price.
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July 18, 2024
Judge With Lake Property Exits $217M Dam Repair Tax Suit
A Michigan federal judge said he would step aside in a fight over a $217 million tax assessment to fund dam reconstruction because he's part of the assessment district, though he warned that hundreds of plaintiffs could have their own conflicts.
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July 18, 2024
King & Spalding Guides Quanta's $1.5B Cupertino Buy
Houston-based Quanta Services Inc. said Thursday it has acquired fellow energy infrastructure provider Cupertino Electric Inc. for up to $1.54 billion, with King & Spalding LLP and Fenwick & West LLP providing legal counsel on the deal, respectively.
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July 18, 2024
Ga. Mineral Co. Can't Nab Win In Row Over Talc Suit Coverage
A Georgia federal judge declined to grant a win to a mineral products company trying to compel a Travelers unit to defend it against an underlying suit claiming that it supplied asbestos-containing talc products.
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July 17, 2024
EPA Disputes High Court Link To Texas Clean Air Act Case
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency argued that the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling blocking a federal plan to reduce cross-state pollution does not impact the EPA's decision to reject state plans submitted by Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
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July 17, 2024
PJM Jumps Into 3rd Circ. Row Over Transmission Project
A Pennsylvania commission's request to have the Third Circuit reinstate its rejection of a power transmission project would impinge on PJM Interconnection's federally mandated planning process, the regional grid operator said in an amicus brief filed Wednesday.
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July 17, 2024
Lawmakers Say Bid To Toss Monument Suit Is A 'Red Herring'
The Arizona Legislature is fighting a bid by the Biden administration to dismiss a challenge to a presidential proclamation that established an Indigenous site as a national monument in the Grand Canyon region, arguing that the state's constitution gives the lawmakers power over state trust lands.
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July 17, 2024
DOE Says Challenge Of $1.1B Diablo Canyon Award Must Fail
The U.S. Department of Energy is urging a California federal judge to throw out a suit challenging its award of $1.1 billion of credits to help Pacific Gas & Electric Co. keep two generation units running for now at the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant.
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July 17, 2024
6th Circ. To Review 2 Standards In FirstEnergy's Cert. Fight
The Sixth Circuit indicated Wednesday that it would have to examine the applicability of two different class certification standards in a securities suit by FirstEnergy investors, as the company insisted there was no proof its statements influenced stock prices, and that purported omissions didn't factor into the mix.
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July 17, 2024
Ex-Cognizant Execs Bemoan Access Woes In Bribery Case
Former Cognizant executives accused of authorizing a bribe to a government official in India have told a New Jersey federal court that obstacles to their access to evidence and overseas witnesses undermine their right to a fair trial and could warrant the dismissal of the case.
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July 17, 2024
PE Firms Plug $300M Into Digital Infrastructure Developer
Digital infrastructure site developer Cloverleaf Infrastructure on Wednesday announced that it has received more than $300 million in commitments from private equity shops NGP, advised by Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP-led Sandbrook Capital.
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July 17, 2024
Kazakhstan Agrees To End Fight Over $506M Award
A decade-long fight between Kazakhstan and Moldovan oil and gas investors who won a half-billion-dollar arbitral award against the country has come to a close, with the parties inking a binding framework to resolve their dispute.
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July 17, 2024
SPAC Investor Sues Battery Co. In Del. Over Held-Back Shares
A Florida-based hedge fund that invested in a blank-check company that took battery company Solidion Technology Inc. public has sued for breach of contract in Delaware's Court of Chancery, alleging the company is refusing to issue more than 9.54 million shares of stock that are due under pre-merger agreements.
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July 16, 2024
Smirnov Wants David Weiss DQ'd After Trump Docs Ruling
Former FBI informant Alexander Smirnov said Monday that a Florida federal judge's order disqualifying the special prosecutor in the Donald Trump classified documents case means special counsel David Weiss should also be disqualified from Smirnov's case, according to a motion filed in California federal court.
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July 16, 2024
Colombia Ducks Damages In Eco Oro's $700M Mining Claim
An international tribunal has declined to order Colombia to pay damages to a Canadian precious metals company despite its finding three years ago that the country had breached an underlying treaty, issuing an award Monday that appended a scathing criticism of third-party funding in investor-state cases by arbitrator Philippe Sands.
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July 16, 2024
Tesla Says Chinese Co. Sells 'Dangerous' Charging Adapter
Tesla said on Monday that a Chinese company sells a "dangerous" charging adapter that lets owners of non-Tesla electric vehicles charge at its network, saying in a suit filed in California federal court that the device could injure consumers and damage the power infrastructure.
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July 16, 2024
Apollo's $1.85B Mining Co. Deal Sparks Del. Suit For Docs
An investor sued a mining and logistics company in Delaware's Court of Chancery seeking documents regarding the firm's $1.85 billion go-private deal with affiliates of asset management giant Apollo, approved Tuesday by the mineral producer's stockholders, asserting that there are credible concerns over pre-transaction communications between its executives and Apollo about their jobs.
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July 16, 2024
DC Circ. Knocks La. Site FERC Order, Tosses LNG Export Row
Two D.C. Circuit panels on Tuesday ruled the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission inadequately explained a failure to assess the significance of greenhouse gas emissions for proposed liquefied natural gas facilities in Louisiana, dismissing a challenge of approvals allowing a Texas project to send more of its LNG exports to nonfree trade agreement countries.
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July 16, 2024
Enbridge Seeks 6th Circ. Rehearing In Venue Dispute
Enbridge Energy LP has asked the full Sixth Circuit to rehear an appellate panel's decision to send the company's pipeline dispute with Michigan's attorney general back to state court, arguing that the opinion creates a conflict within the circuit over when the removal clock starts running.
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July 16, 2024
Ill. Judge Wants Expert Testimony Preview In Madigan Trial
An Illinois federal judge said Tuesday that he needs to hear more about potential testimony from certain Chicago politics experts and a proposal to research potential jurors before he decides whether either are appropriate for former state House speaker Michael Madigan's corruption trial.
Expert Analysis
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What Recent Study Shows About AI's Promise For Legal Tasks
Amid both skepticism and excitement about the promise of generative artificial intelligence in legal contexts, the first randomized controlled trial studying its impact on basic lawyering tasks shows mixed but promising results, and underscores the need for attorneys to proactively engage with AI, says Daniel Schwarcz at University of Minnesota Law School.
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FERC's Updated Settlement Policy Comes With Risks For Cos.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's newly streamlined enforcement settlement policy may increase investigation subjects' regulatory risk, so they should consider measures to protect themselves, such as periodically assessing compliance programs and mitigating any weaknesses, say attorneys at Willkie.
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SEC's Final Climate Disclosure Rules: What Cos. Must Know
While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's scaled-back final rules requiring public companies to disclose certain climate-related information still face challenges in court, companies should begin preparing now to comply with the rules, say Celia Soehner and Erin Martin at Morgan Lewis.
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Caremark 2.0 Lends Shareholders Agency Against Polluters
The Caremark doctrine has been liberalized by recent Delaware court decisions into what some have termed a 2.0 version, making derivative cases against corporations far more plausible and invigorating oversight duty on environmental risks like toxic spills and air pollution, say Joshua Margolin and Sean Goldman-Hunt at Selendy Gay.
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Wildfire Challenges For Utility Investors: Regs And Financing
For investors in public utilities, wildfire liability considerations include not only regulatory complexities, but also bankruptcy claims resolution, financing judgments and settlements, and how to leverage organizational structures to maximize investment protections, say David Botter and Lisa Schweitzer at Cleary.
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Litigation Inspiration: A Source Of Untapped Fulfillment
As increasing numbers of attorneys struggle with stress and mental health issues, business litigators can find protection against burnout by remembering their important role in society — because fulfillment in one’s work isn’t just reserved for public interest lawyers, say Bennett Rawicki and Peter Bigelow at Hilgers Graben.
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Wildfire Challenges For Utility Investors: Liability Theories
The greater frequency and scale of wildfires in the last several years have created operational and fiscal challenges for electric utility companies, including new theories of liability and unique operational and risk management considerations — all of which must be carefully considered by utility investors, say David Botter and Lisa Schweitzer at Cleary.
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Series
Skiing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
A lifetime of skiing has helped me develop important professional skills, and taught me that embracing challenges with a spirit of adventure can allow lawyers to push boundaries, expand their capabilities and ultimately excel in their careers, says Andrea Przybysz at Tucker Ellis.
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Practical Steps For Navigating New Sanctions On Russia
After the latest round of U.S. sanctions against Russia – the largest to date since the Ukraine war began – companies will need to continue to strengthen due diligence and compliance measures to navigate the related complexities, say James Min and Chelsea Ellis at Rimon.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Forget Everything You Know About IRAC
The mode of legal reasoning most students learn in law school, often called “Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion,” or IRAC, erroneously frames analysis as a separate, discrete step, resulting in disorganized briefs and untold obfuscation — but the fix is pretty simple, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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Webpages Must Meet Accessibility Standard To Be Prior Art
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board's First Solar Inc. v. Rovshan Sade decision, that an available internet resource doesn't necessarily qualify as a prior art "printed publication" that is publicly accessible, serves as a reminder of the unforgiving requirements that must be satisfied to establish that a reference is a printed publication, say attorneys at Akin.
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Recent Rulings Add Dimension To Justices' Maui Decision
The U.S. Supreme Court's 2020 decision in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund established new factual criteria for determining when the Clean Water Act applies to groundwater — and recent decisions from the Ninth and Tenth Circuits have clarified how litigants can make use of the Maui standard, says Steven Hoch at Clark Hill.
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Strategies For Single-Member Special Litigation Committees
The Delaware Supreme Court's recent order in the Baker Hughes derivative litigation allowing testimony from a single-member special litigation committee highlights the fact that, while single-member SLCs are subject to heightened scrutiny, they can also provide unique opportunities, says Josh Bloom at MoloLamken.
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10th Circ. Ruling Means More Okla. Oilfield Pollution Litigation
By applying Oklahoma's statutory definitions of pollution to a private landowner's claim for negligence for the first time, the Tenth Circuit's recent decision in Lazy S Ranch v. Valero will likely make it harder to obtain summary judgment in oilfield contamination cases, and will lead to more litigation, say attorneys at GableGotwals.
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How Firms Can Ensure Associate Gender Parity Lasts
Among associates, women now outnumber men for the first time, but progress toward gender equality at the top of the legal profession remains glacially slow, and firms must implement time-tested solutions to ensure associates’ gender parity lasts throughout their careers, say Kelly Culhane and Nicole Joseph at Culhane Meadows.