Energy

  • September 19, 2024

    Florida Banker Denies Laundering Money For Father

    A Florida banker pled not guilty Thursday to federal charges connected to laundering money for his father, who was convicted for his role in a corruption scandal involving canceling fines for a defective hydroelectric dam in exchange for millions in bribes while he served as Ecuador's comptroller.

  • September 19, 2024

    Gold Mine Operator Agrees To Pay $3M In Water Pollution Row

    The operator of the controversial Buckhorn Mountain Gold Mine has agreed to pay more than $3.1 million and take a variety of steps to investigate and remediate water pollution, under a proposed consent decree filed in Washington federal court on Thursday.

  • September 19, 2024

    EPA Urges DC Circ. Not To Block Coal Ash Rule Implementation

    A Kentucky electric utility is "misleading" the D.C. Circuit about how clean former coal ash pits are once the material is removed, and should not be allowed to block implementation of a new coal ash rule, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday.

  • September 19, 2024

    Calif. Port's Approval Of Hydrogen Project Challenged

    Two conservation groups filed a California state court lawsuit challenging the Port of Stockton's review and approval of a hydrogen production and distribution facility, arguing it conducted an inadequate environmental review and failed to ensure project impacts are mitigated.

  • September 19, 2024

    FERC Must Heed DC Circ. 'Shift' On Gas Reviews, Chair Says

    Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Willie Phillips said Thursday that the D.C. Circuit wrongly wiped out the agency's approval of a Northeast pipeline expansion project, but acknowledged that recent court decisions will force FERC to rethink how it reviews gas infrastructure projects.

  • September 19, 2024

    Judge Blocks Manhattan Project Waste From Mich. Landfill

    A state judge barred a southeast Michigan landfill from accepting shipments of radiological material Wednesday, issuing a temporary restraining order days after surrounding communities sued over planned deliveries of contaminated soil and debris left over from the development of the first atomic bomb.

  • September 19, 2024

    Quinn Emanuel Challenges Oro Negro Execs' Discovery Bid

    Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP is pushing back against a bid for firm documents from its former client, Oro Negro Drilling Pte. Ltd., saying the company that provides oil services in Mexico and its subsidiaries are "weaponizing" the firm's party status to gain a tactical advantage in related legal battles.

  • September 19, 2024

    BakerHostetler Adds Ex-Baker Botts Accident Response Duo

    Months after hiring former Baker Botts attorney Greg Dillard to lead its catastrophic accident response team, BakerHostetler has announced the hire of two more attorneys from the firm as counsel in Washington, D.C., and Houston.

  • September 19, 2024

    Tax Or Fee, Utility Rates Beyond Review, Ga. Justices Hear

    A Georgia city told the state Supreme Court on Thursday that its use of utility fees to bolster city coffers was not an illegal tax, despite a sports bar owner's claims to the contrary, and that a trial court rightly said it could not decide the matter.

  • September 19, 2024

    3 Firms Lead Vistra's $3B Buy Of Leftover Stake In Nuclear Biz

    Retail electricity and power generation company Vistra Corp. has agreed to acquire the remaining 15% equity stake in its subsidiary Vistra Vision LLC, which owns nuclear generation facilities, from minority investors Nuveen Asset Management LLC and Avenue Capital Management II LP in a deal valued at more than $3 billion and built by three law firms.

  • September 18, 2024

    Waste Mgmt. Sued For $3.8M Over Renewable Energy Credits

    A Constellation Energy Corp. unit slapped Waste Management Inc. with a complaint in Texas federal court on Tuesday, saying the company has refused to cough up more than $3.8 million for renewable energy credits Constellation paid for but never received.

  • September 18, 2024

    Split 5th Circ. Upholds Oxy's $38M Win Over Wells Fargo Bank

    A split Fifth Circuit panel upheld a $38 million judgment against Wells Fargo in a published opinion Wednesday, affirming that the bank breached its trustee duties by failing to timely sell Occidental Petroleum Corp. stock and is judicially estopped from arguing that the trust agreement was not a contract.

  • September 18, 2024

    FBI Dismantles Chinese Botnet, Urges Victims To Seek Aid

    FBI Director Christopher Wray announced Wednesday that the law enforcement agency has knocked out a botnet operated by a Chinese government-sponsored hacker group that was stealing confidential data by infecting internet-connected devices.

  • September 18, 2024

    EPA Retaliated Against Three Scientists, Watchdog Says

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's internal watchdog said Wednesday that agency officials pushing for faster progress on a backlog of chemical reviews retaliated against several scientists for raising differing scientific opinions on chemical assessments.

  • September 18, 2024

    Wash. Court Won't Ax Testimony In Tribes' River Pollution Suit

    A Washington federal judge issued a slew of orders Tuesday refusing to limit expert testimony in the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation's lawsuit against a smelter operator over pollution in the Upper Columbia River, saying the testimony will help the jury make a decision at trial.

  • September 18, 2024

    Loper Bright Undercuts SEC Climate Rule, Fracking Cos. Say

    Two fracking companies suing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over its climate disclosure rules have again urged the Eighth Circuit to vacate the measures, offering a diverging interpretation of how the U.S. Supreme Court's decision axing Chevron deference should apply.

  • September 18, 2024

    9th Circ. Won't Revive Gas Price-Fixing Suit Over Trump Pact

    The Ninth Circuit upheld the dismissal of a proposed class action alleging price fixing between major oil producers as part of the Trump Administration's 2020 deal with Russia and Saudi Arabia to cut production, saying that subjecting the pact to judicial review would be inappropriately "second-guessing" executive branch foreign policy.

  • September 18, 2024

    Feds Oppose Bid To Block EPA Mercury Rule At High Court

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, several blue states and a coalition of green groups on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reject an effort to reverse the D.C. Circuit's decision allowing the EPA to implement a mercury air pollution rule.

  • September 18, 2024

    Cleanup Worker Wants Full 5th Circ. To Review BP Spill Suit

    A worker who alleges that he was exposed to toxic substances while cleaning up the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 is urging the full Fifth Circuit to review a decision to dismiss his case, saying the panel that upheld the dismissal misconstrued precedent in finding that he needed to show that the discovery he sought was enough to defeat summary judgment.

  • September 18, 2024

    Sea Mining Co. Awarded $37M In Mexico Phosphate Fight

    A U.S. deep ocean exploration company has been awarded $37 million in its fight with Mexico after the country mothballed its project to develop one of the world's largest seabed phosphate deposits, although it expects most of the award to go toward satisfying its litigation funding obligations.

  • September 18, 2024

    NJ Steel Co. Says OSHA Review Agency Is Unconstitutional

    A New Jersey steel fabrication company has told a New Jersey federal court that an independent federal commission shouldn't decide whether it has to pay nearly $350,000 in proposed penalties from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, arguing the commission's structure violates the separation of powers clause of the U.S. Constitution.

  • September 18, 2024

    Mexican Parts Maker Rehires Worker To End USMCA Probe

    A Mexican parts manufacturer rehired a worker fired allegedly for conducting union activities and agreed to train its workforce on collective bargaining rights to end an investigation under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement into claims that the plant violated workers' organizing rights, the U.S. Trade Representative has announced.

  • September 18, 2024

    NC Panel Won't Undo Energy Rates In Solar Incentives Row

    The North Carolina state appeals court has declined to unravel the state's revised energy rates for residents with rooftop solar power, saying that while the North Carolina Utilities Commission erred by concluding it was not required to conduct a cost-benefit investigation, it de facto carried out such an inquiry anyway.

  • September 18, 2024

    No Rehearing For 10th Circ. Methane Rule Challenge

    A Tenth Circuit panel rejected a request to reconsider its decision to throw out a ruling that partially invalidated an Obama-era rule limiting venting, flaring and leaks from oil and gas wells on federal land.

  • September 18, 2024

    Mich. Town Wants Stay During Appeal Over $2B Battery Plant

    A central Michigan township has asked a federal judge to pause enforcement while it appeals a previous ruling finding local officials violated a development agreement by trying to withdraw support for a more than $2 billion battery components plant to be built by Gotion Inc.

Expert Analysis

  • How To Grow Marketing, Biz Dev Teams In A Tight Market

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    Faced with fierce competition and rising operating costs, firms are feeling the pressure to build a well-oiled marketing and business development team that supports strategic priorities, but they’ll need to be flexible and creative given a tight talent market, says Ben Curle at Ambition.

  • Series

    Rock Climbing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Rock climbing requires problem-solving, focus, risk management and resilience, skills that are also invaluable assets in my role as a finance lawyer, says Mei Zhang at Haynes and Boone.

  • What Chevron's End Means For How Congress Does Business

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision, overturning the Chevron doctrine, will have a far-reaching impact across the entire public policy life cycle, beginning with how Congress writes its laws and extending through agency implantation and judicial review, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • Think Like A Lawyer: Dance The Legal Standard Two-Step

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    From rookie brief writers to Chief Justice John Roberts, lawyers should master the legal standard two-step — framing the governing standard at the outset, and clarifying why they meet that standard — which has benefits for both the drafter and reader, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.

  • The Rise Of State And Local Environmental Leadership

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    While Congress is deadlocked, and a U.S. Supreme Court with a hostility toward the administrative state aggressively dismantles federal environmental oversight, state and local governments are stepping up with policies to shape a more sustainable future for all species, says Jonathan Rosenbloom at Albany Law School.

  • NYSE Delisting May Be The Cost Of FCPA Compliance

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    ABB’s recent decision to delist its U.S. depository receipts from the New York Stock Exchange, coupled with having settled three Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement actions, begs the question of whether the cost of FCPA compliance should factor into a company's decision to remain listed in the U.S., says John Joy at FTI Law.

  • CFTC Action Highlights Necessity Of Whistleblower Carveouts

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    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's novel settlement with a trading firm over allegations of manipulating the market and failing to create contract carveouts for employees to freely communicate with investigators serves as a beacon for further enforcement activity from the CFTC and other regulators, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

  • 5 Tips For Solar Cos. Navigating Big Shifts In US Trade Policy

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    Renewable energy developers can best mitigate new compliance risks from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s increased tariffs on imported solar cells, and simultaneously capitalize on Treasury Department incentives for domestic solar manufacturers, by following five best practices in the changing solar trade landscape, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Series

    Being A Luthier Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    When I’m not working as an appellate lawyer, I spend my spare time building guitars — a craft known as luthiery — which has helped to enhance the discipline, patience and resilience needed to write better briefs, says Rob Carty at Nichols Brar.

  • Half-Truths Vs. Omissions: Slicing Justices' Macquarie Cake

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Macquarie v. Moab provides a road map for determining whether corporate reports that omit information should be considered misleading — and the court baked it into a dessert analogy that is key to understanding the guidelines, say Daniel Levy and Pavithra Kumar at Advanced Analytical Consulting Group.

  • Lead Like 'Ted Lasso' By Embracing Cognitive Diversity

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    The Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” aptly illustrates how embracing cognitive diversity can be a winning strategy for teams, providing a useful lesson for law firms, which can benefit significantly from fresh, diverse perspectives and collaborative problem-solving, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.

  • 3 Areas Of Enforcement Risk Facing The EV Industry

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    Companies in the EV manufacturing ecosystem are experiencing a boom in business, but with this boom comes increased regulatory and enforcement risks, from the corruption issues that have historically pervaded the extractive sector to newer risks posed by artificial intelligence, say attorneys at MoFo.

  • Ambiguity Ruling Highlights Deference To Arbitral Process

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    A New York federal court’s recent ruling in Eletson v. Levona, which remanded an arbitral award for clarification, reflects that the ambiguity exception’s analysis is not static and may be applied even in cases where the award, when issued, was unambiguous, says arbitrator Myrna Barakat Friedman.

  • Keeping Up With Carbon Capture Policy In The US And EU

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    Recent regulatory moves from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the European Commission in the carbon capture, sequestration and storage space are likely to further encourage the owners and operators of fossil fuel-fired power plants to make decisions on shutdowns or reconfiguration to meet the expanding requirements, say Inosi Nyatta and Silvia Brünjes at Sullivan & Cromwell.

  • New State Climate Liability Laws: What Companies Must Know

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    New legislation in Vermont and New York creating liability and compliance obligations for businesses deemed responsible for climate change — as well as similar bills proposed in California, Massachusetts and Maryland — have far-reaching implications for companies, so it is vital to remain vigilant as these initiatives progress, say Gregory Berlin and Jeffrey Dintzer at Alston & Bird.

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