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Energy
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November 25, 2024
Native Corp. Faces Default In $3.4M Stock Scam Suit
A Native American microcap company has until Dec. 6 to tell a federal district court judge why it shouldn't face a default judgment in a $3.4 million stock scam lawsuit after the Securities and Exchange Commission said its chief executive officer's "willful disobedience" warrants such a ruling.
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November 25, 2024
Informant Says He Brought Developers To Madigan's Law Firm
An ex-Chicago alderman who wore a wire to meetings with former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan was back on the stand Monday describing how he arranged a meeting with developers of a Chicago apartment building at Madigan's law office, with jurors hearing a call in which Madigan said to "go ahead and process" a zoning change for that project after the alderman asked if the developer gave him legal work.
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November 25, 2024
Giant Emerald Can Return To Brazil, DC Judge Rules
A massive and storied emerald smuggled into the United States two decades ago is one step closer to returning to Brazil after a D.C. federal judge granted the U.S. Department of Justice's request to forfeit the gem to its home country.
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November 25, 2024
FHWA Says Rule Doesn't 'Compel' States To Lower Emissions
The Federal Highway Administration defended a new rule calling on states to set targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from federally funded highway projects, telling the Fifth Circuit in a Friday brief the rule doesn't actually compel states to lower their emissions.
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November 25, 2024
GATX Rips Norfolk Southern's Bid To Shift Derailment Liability
GATX Corp. and its subsidiary General American Marks Co. have told an Ohio federal court that Norfolk Southern cannot offload liability for the February 2023 East Palestine derailment and toxic chemical spill, saying there's zero evidence GATX improperly maintained or inspected a tank car involved in the accident.
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November 25, 2024
Calif. Gov. Promises EV Tax Credit If Trump Axes Federal
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday said that he's preparing to save electric vehicle tax credits — at least for residents of his state — if the Trump administration and a Republican Congress eliminate federal ones.
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November 25, 2024
Geologist, Oil Co. Can't Get Approval Of Wage Suit Settlement
A Colorado federal judge put the brakes on a settlement that a geologist reached with the oil and gas producer he accused of failing to pay overtime, saying it's not clear if he alerted other workers of the deal or if a $1 million attorney fee request is reasonable.
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November 25, 2024
$65M Deal In Texas Drilling Suit Gets Final OK
A Texas federal judge gave the final green light Monday to a $65 million settlement against oil and gas company Apache Corp. filed by investors alleging they were deceived by promises of a potentially lucrative drilling project that ultimately led to a $3 billion write-down when it went bust.
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November 25, 2024
Sanctions Sought Against Reed Smith In Eletson Ch. 11
Creditors of bankrupt gas tanker operator Eletson Holdings Monday called for "harsh sanctions" against company directors and officers and their attorneys at Reed Smith, saying they are peddling bogus legal theories to stall the company's reorganization.
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November 25, 2024
Payments To Exxon Unit Taxable, Australian Panel Says
Exxon Mobil unit Esso is liable for tax on monthly payments it received for processing its Australian business partners' petroleum and on an AU$23.4 million ($15.5 million) lump sum payment, a panel at the Federal Court of Australia said, overturning an earlier judgment at the same court.
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November 25, 2024
Shell Oil Co. Sued For Not Paying Gas Station Cashier
Shell Oil Co. and Nerr Petroleum Inc. were slapped with a complaint in Georgia federal court by a former cashier alleging he was only paid $1,000, despite working an average of 112 hours per week for nearly 10 months.
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November 25, 2024
Kirkland, Milbank Shape $3.5B Blackstone-EQT Corp. JV
EQT Corp., led by Kirkland & Ellis, will form a $3.5 billion joint venture with Blackstone Credit & Insurance to take over ownership of the Mountain Valley Pipeline and other midstream assets that EQT got in its re-acquisition of Equitrans Midstream, the partners announced Monday.
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November 25, 2024
Solar Co. Ex-CEO Attys Say DQ Request 'Untethered To Facts'
Lawyers representing the former CEO of a now-defunct solar energy company against fraud and racketeering claims have told a Michigan federal judge that their previous in-house work for the company is not grounds to disqualify them from the suit, calling the plaintiffs' attempt to have them removed "untethered to facts" and improperly delayed.
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November 25, 2024
Justices Turn Away $10M Tanker Seizure Suit
The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it will not review a petition asking it to resolve if courts are bound by "hard-and-fast" rules limiting their inquiry into whether a property can be seized to enforce a maritime debt, an issue the petitioner argued affected "fundamental principles of admiralty law."
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November 22, 2024
EPA Targets Stationary Combustion Turbine NOx Emissions
The Biden administration isn't letting Donald Trump's presidential election victory block its air pollution agenda, as it proposed a rule Friday that would strengthen limits on emissions of nitrogen oxides from new gas-fired power plants and other sources.
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November 22, 2024
Manhattan Project Waste Suit Sent Back To Mich. State Court
A Michigan federal judge on Friday remanded back to state court a lawsuit from communities trying to prevent a local landfill company from accepting decades-old radioactive waste from the development of the first atomic bomb, finding a state judge can answer the unsubstantial federal question raised in the case.
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November 22, 2024
Bulgaria Looks To Nix $61M Renewable Energy Award Suit
Bulgaria is urging a D.C. federal court to nix litigation filed by Maltese investor ACF Renewable Energy Ltd. to enforce a €61 million ($63.54 million) arbitral award it won following a dispute over a nixed tariff program, arguing that it never agreed to arbitrate with ACF.
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November 22, 2024
Malaysia Looks To Shore Up Counterattack Over $14.9B Award
Units of Malaysia's national energy company have kicked off new litigation in Delaware and New York, seeking additional information as they look to fight back against a massive $14.9 billion arbitral award issued in a territorial dispute stemming from a 19th-century land deal.
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November 22, 2024
Feds Slam Utah High Court Case Over Fed. Land Ownership
The federal government called on the Supreme Court to reject Utah's attempt to file a complaint accusing it of unconstitutionally hoarding and profiting from public lands in the state, saying the justices should decline to exercise original jurisdiction over the matter.
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November 22, 2024
Chinese EV Maker's European Unit Eyes $410M SPAC Merger
Hudson Acquisition I Corp. and Aiways Automobile Europe GmbH said Friday they have inked an agreement to go public through a SPAC merger, with the electric vehicle maker achieving a $410 million pre-merger equity valuation.
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November 22, 2024
Navajo Co. Dismisses Case Alleging Paralegal Took Docs
A natural resources company owned by the Navajo Nation has dismissed a lawsuit against a paralegal it accused of failing to turn in her computer for removal of its privileged documents, after the paralegal said she had already arranged to surrender her device before the lawsuit was even filed.
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November 22, 2024
Bondi Vowed Trump Payback. Ex-Colleagues Aren't Worried.
U.S. attorney general nominee Pam Bondi is an outspoken ally of President-elect Donald Trump and vowed during the campaign that his "prosecutors will be prosecuted," but people who've worked with her say she's well qualified to serve as the nation's top cop and downplayed concerns that she would politicize the U.S. Department of Justice.
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November 22, 2024
LA Power Dept. Inks $60M Settlement Over Valley Gas Leak
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has reached a $59.9 million settlement over allegations that it hid a dangerous natural gas leak from San Fernando Valley residents for over three years, according to the plaintiffs' counsel.
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November 22, 2024
EPA, Pa. Nab $5.3M In Penalties Against Oil, Gas Producers
The U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday they have secured two settlements amounting to $5.3 million with XTO Energy Inc. and Hilcorp Energy Company, resolving alleged Clean Air Act and Pennsylvania Air Pollution Control Act violations.
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November 22, 2024
Pa. Rate Deal Halves FirstEnergy's $502M Customer Hike Bid
FirstEnergy will be able to increase its base electrical rates in Pennsylvania to bring in an additional $225 million in annual revenue starting in 2025 — less than half of the rate hike the company initially proposed, according to a settlement approved by the state's Public Utility Commission.
Expert Analysis
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Avoid Getting Burned By Agencies' Solar Financing Spotlight
Recently coordinated reports and advisories from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission maximize the spotlight on the consumer solar financing market and highlight pitfalls for lenders to avoid in this burgeoning field, says Mercedes Tunstall at Cadwalader.
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Decoding Arbitral Disputes: Spanish Assets At Risk Abroad
The recent seizure of a portion of London Luton Airport after an English High Court ruling is the latest installment in a long-running saga over Spain’s failure to honor arbitration awards, highlighting the complexities involved when state-owned enterprises become entangled in disputes stemming from their government's actions, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray's Inn Square Chambers.
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'Greenhushing': Why Some Cos. Are Keeping Quiet On ESG
A wave of ESG-related litigation and regulations have led some companies to retreat altogether from any public statements about their ESG goals, a trend known as "greenhushing" that was at the center of a recent D.C. court decision involving Coca-Cola, say Gonzalo Mon and Katie Rogers at Kelley Drye.
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Missouri Injunction A Setback For State Anti-ESG Rules
A Missouri federal court’s recent order enjoining the state’s anti-ESG rules comes amid actions by state legislatures to revise or invalidate similar legislation imposing disclosure and consent requirements around environmental, social and governance investing, and could be a blueprint for future challenges, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.
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Nuclear Waste Storage Questions Justices May Soon Address
The petition for the U.S. Supreme Court to review U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas stands out for a number of reasons — including a deepening circuit split regarding the NRC's nuclear waste storage authority under the Atomic Energy Act, and broader administrative law implications, say attorneys at MoloLamken.
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Series
After Chevron: Conservation Rule Already Faces Challenges
The Bureau of Land Management's interpretation of land "use" in its Conservation and Landscape Health Rule is contrary to the agency's past practice and other Federal Land Policy and Management Act provisions, leaving the rule exposed in four legal challenges that may carry greater force in the wake of Loper Bright, say Stacey Bosshardt and Stephanie Regenold at Perkins Coie.
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A Preview Of AI Priorities Under The Next President
For the first time in a presidential election, both of the leading candidates and their parties have been vocal about artificial intelligence policy, offering clues on the future of regulation as AI continues to advance and congressional action continues to stall, say attorneys at Mintz.
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Opinion
Big Oil Climate Ruling Sets Dangerous Liability Precedent
The recent Maryland court dismissal of Baltimore's case seeking to hold BP responsible for climate damage mischaracterized the city's injuries as divorced from the conduct that caused them, and could allow companies that conceal the dangers of their products to escape liability, says Randall Abate at George Washington University Law School.
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How Companies Are Approaching Insider Trading Policies
An analysis of insider trading policies recently disclosed by 49 S&P 500 companies under a new U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rule reveals that while specific provisions vary from company to company, certain common themes are emerging, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.
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How Methods Are Evolving In Textualist Interpretations
Textualists at the U.S. Supreme Court are increasingly considering new methods such as corpus linguistics and surveys to evaluate what a statute's text communicates to an ordinary reader, while lower courts even mull large language models like ChatGPT as supplements, says Kevin Tobia at Georgetown Law.
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ESA Ruling May Jeopardize Gulf Of Mexico Drilling Operations
A Maryland federal court's recent decision in Sierra Club v. National Marine Fisheries Service, vacating key Endangered Species Act analyses of oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico, may create a gap in guidance that could expose operators to enforcement risk and even criminal liability, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.
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What's Next For Federal Preemption In Financial Services
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's review of its preemption interpretations and growing pressure from state regulators signal potential changes ahead for preemption in U.S. financial services, and the path forward will likely involve a reevaluation of the entire framework, say attorneys at Clark Hill.
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Why Attorneys Should Consider Community Leadership Roles
Volunteering and nonprofit board service are complementary to, but distinct from, traditional pro bono work, and taking on these community leadership roles can produce dividends for lawyers, their firms and the nonprofit causes they support, says Katie Beacham at Kilpatrick.
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Opinion
Agencies Should Reward Corporate Cyber Victim Cooperation
The increased regulatory scrutiny on corporate victims of cyberattacks — exemplified by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's case against SolarWinds — should be replaced with a new model that provides adequate incentives for companies to come forward proactively and collaborate with law enforcement, say attorneys at McDermott.
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Firms Must Offer A Trifecta Of Services In Post-Chevron World
After the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision overturning Chevron deference, law firms will need to integrate litigation, lobbying and communications functions to keep up with the ramifications of the ruling and provide adequate counsel quickly, says Neil Hare at Dentons.