Energy

  • June 11, 2024

    Ex-Whiteford Corporate Leader Joins Baker Donelson

    Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC announced that the former business and corporate law co-chair at Whiteford Taylor & Preston LLP has joined its Baltimore office as a shareholder.

  • June 11, 2024

    Elon Musk Sued Anew In Del. Over $16B Tesla Stock Sale

    A Tesla shareholder has hit Elon Musk with a lawsuit over his 2021 sale of $16 billion worth of stock just before his purchase of Twitter, claiming the billionaire profited by concealing his intent to buy the social media platform and made the purchase in part to reinstate former President Donald Trump's account.

  • June 10, 2024

    Calif. Targets Oil Giants' Profits In Amended Climate Suit

    California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday tweaked the state's climate deception suit against Exxon Mobil Corp., Shell, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and BP to also target the oil and gas companies' "illegally obtained" profits under a recently enacted state law.

  • June 10, 2024

    Debevoise Aims To Sink Cognizant Bribery Trial Subpoena

    Debevoise & Plimpton LLP urged a New Jersey federal judge Monday to quash defendants' trial subpoena that would require a Debevoise partner to testify in an upcoming September criminal bribery trial against ex-Cognizant Technology Solutions's chief legal officer and another former executive, arguing that the testimony is subject to attorney-client privilege.

  • June 10, 2024

    Bloomberg's Utility Bond Changes Hurt Consumers, Suit Says

    Bloomberg LP was hit with a proposed class action by California and Texas electricity customers who claim the company reclassified certain bonds issued by utility companies to elevate their perceived risk and hike interest rates, a move they say benefited institutional investors but imposed increased costs on electricity customers.

  • June 10, 2024

    Exxon Says Activist Investor Could Still Target Core Business

    Exxon Mobil Corp. sought Monday to keep alive its lawsuit against Arjuna Capital LLC in Texas federal court, arguing that the activist investor could still work behind the scenes to submit climate-related shareholder proposals despite promises in court that it will not.

  • June 10, 2024

    Contractor Seeks Win In Protest Of $186M In DOD Fuel Deals

    A bid protester has urged the Court of Federal Claims to rule that the Defense Logistics Agency wrongly ignored signs of misconduct from two companies awarded $186 million in fuel delivery deals in Syria and Iraq, and disqualify the companies.

  • June 10, 2024

    EPA Air Compliance Rule Trumps State Powers, DC Circ. Told

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency usurped state authority when it issued a final rule changing the deadline for states to submit Clean Air Act compliance plans for power plants and other existing facilities within their borders, 25 Republican-led states told the D.C. Circuit.

  • June 10, 2024

    Supreme Court Rejects WWII Oil Refinery Cleanup Appeal

    The U.S. Supreme Court left intact on Monday a Sixth Circuit decision that the federal government can't be held liable for environmental contamination left behind by oil refineries during World War II, rejecting a petition for certiorari filed by Valero Energy Corp.

  • June 10, 2024

    Co. Says 16 Intervenors Will Drag Out Alaska Mine Dispute

    A company seeking relief from a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency decision to block a mining proposal for a stretch of pristine salmon habitat on Alaska's Bristol Bay asked a federal judge to exclude more than a dozen environmental groups from joining the case.

  • June 10, 2024

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    Big players and big moves dominated much of the past week in Delaware's Court of Chancery, as Tesla in particular and big corporations in general showed their pique over rulings that went toward stockholders or against conventional expectations.

  • June 10, 2024

    Citgo Retirees Secure Amended Class Cert. In ERISA Suit

    An Illinois federal judge greenlighted class status to retired Citgo employees who accused the company of shortchanging them by using outdated metrics to calculate early retirement payouts, saying the former employees properly winnowed down the class definition.

  • June 10, 2024

    Copper Miner Hits Ch. 11 In Nevada With Over $500M Debt

    Copper-mining company Nevada Copper Corp. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday in Nevada with up to $1 billion in debt, saying it intends to shutter its business and sell off its assets.

  • June 10, 2024

    Justices Seek Solicitor General View On Climate Change Torts

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday asked the U.S. solicitor general to weigh in on a bid to end a suit brought by Honolulu seeking to put fossil fuel companies on the hook for climate change-related damages.

  • June 10, 2024

    Justices Won't Revisit Salary Basis Carveout To Overtime Pay

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday again declined to weigh in on the exemption to overtime pay under federal labor law for salaried workers in a case dealing with whether extra compensation on top of a salary does away with exemption status.

  • June 07, 2024

    3rd Circ. Backs NJ In Pipeline Co.'s Business Tax Fight

    The Third Circuit ruled Friday that New Jersey's partnership filing fee is a state affair that can't be challenged in federal court, dealing a blow to a pipeline company seeking to shed the cost because it does very little business in the state.

  • June 07, 2024

    Trade Commission Votes To Advance Solar Cell Investigations

    The four heads of the U.S. International Trade Commission voted unanimously Friday to continue anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations into solar cell imports from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, finding evidence that the imports harmed domestic solar manufacturers.

  • June 07, 2024

    6th Circ. Revives Investors' Suit Over Leech Tishman Advice

    A Sixth Circuit panel has revived a group of investors' claims that Pittsburgh-based Leech Tishman Fuscaldo & Lampl's lawyers gave fraudulent and negligent advice about clean energy investments that turned out to be a Ponzi scheme, reasoning that a one-year statute of limitations had been tolled for some claims and didn't apply to others.

  • June 07, 2024

    3 IPEF Agreements Done, But Still No Sign Of Trade Pillar

    Three of the four "pillars" of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity and the initiative's overarching agreement are now complete, the U.S. Department of Commerce has announced, but there's still no timeline for finishing the deal's trade pillar

  • June 07, 2024

    US Auto Regulator Finalizes New Fuel Economy Standards

    The U.S. Department of Transportation on Friday finalized highly anticipated new fuel economy standards for passenger cars and light trucks that envision boosting average efficiency to 50.4 miles per gallon by 2031, marking the Biden administration's latest climate-focused endeavor to curb emissions in the transportation sector.

  • June 07, 2024

    DOE Reveals National Definition Of Zero-Emissions Building

    The U.S. Department of Energy unveiled a federal definition for determining whether a residential or commercial building qualifies as a zero-emissions building as part of an ongoing effort to slash greenhouse gas emissions across the traditionally heavily emitting sector.

  • June 07, 2024

    White & Case, Latham Lead Aramco's $11.2B Stock Offering

    Saudi Arabian state-backed oil giant Aramco on Friday priced an $11.2 billion stock offering within the lower end of its range, guided by White & Case LLP and underwriters counsel Latham & Watkins LLP, representing one of the largest secondary offerings in years.

  • June 07, 2024

    States Urge DC Circ. To Smoke EPA Particulate Matter Rule

    A coalition of 25 Republican-led states and eight industry groups have urged the D.C. Circuit to strike down the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's final rule tightening federal standards for fine particulate matter pollution in separate opening briefs.

  • June 07, 2024

    Calif. Atty Faces Hacking Charge In Utility Billing Scandal

    A San Fernando Valley attorney accused of scheming with lawyers representing the city of Los Angeles to settle a customer billing class action favorably for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power also plotted to access the email and phone accounts of the judge overseeing the litigation, the State Bar of California asserted in an additional disciplinary charge filed Thursday.

  • June 07, 2024

    Shein's Pursuit Of London IPO Proves US-China Rift Persists

    Online fashion giant Shein's expected pivot to London rather than the United States for its initial public offering — triggered by persistent tensions between China and the U.S. — will be closely watched by IPO prospects mulling where to list their shares in a dicey geopolitical climate, experts say.

Expert Analysis

  • Document Retention Best Practices To Lower Litigation Risks

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    As new technologies emerge and terabytes of data can be within the purview of a single discovery request, businesses small and large should take four document management steps to effectively minimize risks of litigation and discovery sanctions long before litigation ensues, says Kimbrilee Weber at Norris McLaughlin.

  • Series

    Riding My Peloton Bike Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Using the Peloton platform for cycling, running, rowing and more taught me that fostering a mind-body connection will not only benefit you physically and emotionally, but also inspire stamina, focus, discipline and empathy in your legal career, says Christopher Ward at Polsinelli.

  • The Challenges SEC's Climate Disclosure Rule May Face

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    Attorneys at Debevoise examine potential legal challenges to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's new climate-related disclosure rule — against which nine suits have already been filed — including arguments under the Administrative Procedure Act, the major questions doctrine, the First Amendment and the nondelegation doctrine.

  • New Eagle Take Permit Rule Should Help Wind Projects Soar

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    The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's recently issued final rule revising the eagle take permit process should help wind energy developers obtain incidental take permits through a more transparent and expedited process, and mitigate the risk of improper take penalties faced by wind projects, says Jon Micah Goeller at Husch Blackwell.

  • 2 Issues For Venture-Backed Climate Tech Startups To Avoid

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    As climate tech startups become more common, poor equity dilution management and stacked seed financing are two common pitfalls that apply more acutely to climate tech startups than to the broader venture-backed startup space, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents

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    Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.

  • What 2 Years Of Ukraine-Russia Conflict Can Teach Cos.

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    A few key legal lessons for the global business community since Russia's invasion of Ukraine could help protect global commerce in times of future conflict, including how to respond to disparate trade restrictions and sanctions, navigate war-related contract disputes, and protect against heightened cybersecurity risks, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Takeaways From EPA's New Methane Emission Rules

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    Attorneys at V&E examine two new Clean Air Act rules for the oil and gas industry, explaining how they expand methane and volatile organic compound emission reduction requirements and amplify U.S. Environmental Protection Agency enforcement risks.

  • In Int'l Arbitration Agreements, Be Clear About Governing Law

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    A trilogy of recent cases in the English High Court and Court of Appeal highlight the importance of parties agreeing to explicit choice of law language at the outset of an arbitration agreement in order to avoid costly legal skirmishes down the road, say lawyers at Faegre Drinker.

  • What Recent Study Shows About AI's Promise For Legal Tasks

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    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.

  • FERC's Updated Settlement Policy Comes With Risks For Cos.

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    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.

  • SEC's Final Climate Disclosure Rules: What Cos. Must Know

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    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.

  • Caremark 2.0 Lends Shareholders Agency Against Polluters

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    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.

  • Wildfire Challenges For Utility Investors: Regs And Financing

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    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.

  • Litigation Inspiration: A Source Of Untapped Fulfillment

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    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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