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Energy
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August 14, 2024
3rd Circ. May Nix $10M Venezuela Award Transfer Suit
The Third Circuit appeared poised to decline jurisdiction over appeals challenging a Delaware judge's decision to send litigation enforcing some $10 million in arbitral awards against a subsidiary of Venezuela's state-owned oil company to federal court in Washington, D.C.
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August 14, 2024
Exxon Can't Beat Investor Suit Over Permian Basin Claims
A Texas federal judge kept a proposed investor class action against Exxon Mobil intact, saying in an opinion that the investors' allegations claiming Exxon overvalued its Permian Basin holdings by billions of dollars and fudged its public statements were strong enough for the case to move forward.
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August 14, 2024
Sanctioned Ghanaian Co. Says Law Firm's Fees Too High
An African energy company has slammed international arbitration specialty law firm Three Crowns LLP in Texas federal court for claiming nearly $200,000 in fees after the company was sanctioned for lying to a Ghanaian court.
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August 14, 2024
BP Unit Can't Escape Truck Stop Suit, Developers Claim
Companies suing a BP subsidiary for terminating their truck stop franchise agreement and leaving them stuck with unrecoverable development costs hit back against its "shotgun approach" to have their suit seeking more than $300 million in damages thrown out, telling an Ohio federal judge that their complaint is grounded in compelling claims.
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August 14, 2024
Fuel Co. Can't Halt Fund's Contributions Dispute, Judge Says
An airplane fueling services company can't escape claims from a Teamsters benefit plan seeking more than $150,000 in unpaid contributions and other costs, a New York federal judge ruled, finding ambiguities with provisions in an agreement about contribution obligations preclude dismissal.
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August 14, 2024
CFTC Hits Vitol With First-Of-Its-Kind Position Limits Fine
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued its first-ever fine Wednesday against a trader exceeding position limits by holding the same contract across multiple exchanges, penalizing Swiss energy and commodities company Vitol SA for its positions on cattle and crude oil futures.
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August 14, 2024
10th Circ. Wipes Out Fight Over Obama-Era Methane Rule
The Tenth Circuit has thrown out a lower court ruling partially invalidating an Obama-era rule limiting venting and flaring from oil and gas wells on federal land, saying a new rule crafted by the Biden administration moots the entire case.
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August 14, 2024
EU OKs Siemens' $3.8B Sale Of Innomotics To PE Firm KPS
European Union antitrust enforcers signed off Wednesday on German tech conglomerate Siemens AG's plan to sell its Innomotics large motors and drives unit to New York City-based private equity firm KPS Capital Partners, finding that the deal, with an enterprise value of €3.5 billion ($3.9 billion), poses "limited" overlap concerns.
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August 14, 2024
Judge Blocks Missouri's Anti-ESG Rules, Handing SIFMA Win
A Missouri federal judge found Wednesday that the state's anti-ESG rules for brokers and advisers violate the First Amendment and are preempted by federal laws, handing the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association an early win in its suit against state officials.
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August 14, 2024
The Biggest Enviro Decisions Of 2024: Midyear Report
2024 has already been one of the most consequential years for environmental law, and it's only half over. The U.S. Supreme Court issued groundbreaking administrative law decisions, while lower appeals courts resolved questions about California's right to promulgate its own vehicle emissions standards, among other rulings.
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August 14, 2024
Oil Equipment Co. Says Ex-Workers Took Patent-Pending Tech
An oilfield equipment company has taken two of its former workers and the competitor they left for to Texas federal court over claims the ex-employees absconded with its patent-pending oil valve technology and then shared it and other trade secrets with their new employer.
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August 13, 2024
Texas Court Affirms Sole Arbitrator In Oilfield Machinery Fight
A Texas appeals court affirmed on Tuesday that arbitration over more than $1 million owed on an invoice for oilfield machinery should be heard by a sole arbitrator, ruling that a subsequent agreement between a Mexican drill rig manufacturer and a Houston company trumped the wording in their initial contract.
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August 13, 2024
Anadarko Settles Wyo. Landowners' Antitrust Case For $12M
Occidental Petroleum Corp. unit Anadarko Petroleum Corp. will pay $12 million to resolve a federal class action from Wyoming landowners accusing the extraction company of anticompetitively hoarding permits to block and control local oil and gas development, resolving the suit Monday — very nearly on the courthouse steps.
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August 13, 2024
Halliburton Gets PTAB To Mostly Invalidate US Well Patent
A Patent Trial and Appeal Board panel largely invalidated claims of a fracturing patent owned by U.S. Well Services LLC challenged by Halliburton Energy Services Inc.
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August 13, 2024
No Cause To Revisit Maple Leaf Standard Yet, Fed. Circ. Says
The Federal Circuit on Tuesday declined a solar industry group's push to review a decades-old, "breathtakingly deferential" precedent a panel invoked in a decision affirming the president's Trade Act authority to make existing solar safeguard tariffs more trade restrictive.
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August 13, 2024
10th Circ. Says Mine Can't Undo Worker's Black Lung Benefits
A Tenth Circuit panel on Tuesday rejected a coal mining company's attempt to prevent a retired Utah miner from getting benefits under the Black Lung Benefits Act, finding the miner's time working in above-ground facilities did not remove the law's presumption in his favor.
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August 13, 2024
Quarry Liable For Layoff Notices, NLRB Tells DC Circ.
The National Labor Relations Board correctly found that a quarry operator illegally issued layoff notices to union supporters, the agency argued to the D.C. Circuit on Tuesday, saying the company hadn't followed its practice of laying people off during cold weather.
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August 13, 2024
Ariz. Tribe, Green Groups Want In On Industry Copper Rule Suit
A Native American tribe and the Sierra Club are squaring off against mining companies challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recent rule, which is intended to reduce toxic, cancer-causing emissions from copper-smelting facilities.
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August 13, 2024
Tesla, Stockholder Feud In Del. Over Texas Move's Validity
Tesla inc. has fired a Delaware Court of Chancery broadside at a stockholder claim that the company failed to collect a required two-thirds majority vote to convert from a Delaware to a Texas-chartered company, saying the supermajority applies to charter changes rather than Tesla's corporate "redomestication."
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August 13, 2024
DOD Says Missing License Is Needed To Dispute $1B Fuel Deal
The Defense Logistics Agency has urged the Court of Federal Claims to toss a protest alleging a $1 billion African fuel supply deal requires a license that can only be secured through bribery, saying not already having the license dooms the protester's case.
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August 13, 2024
Air Taxi Co. Investor Ends Suit After Exec Indemnity Vote Fails
A stockholder suit against electric air taxi developer Archer Aviation Inc. has been declared moot after the company acknowledged it didn't have enough shareholder votes in favor of a measure that would indemnify its executives.
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August 13, 2024
Youth Plead To Save Constitutional Climate Lawsuit
Youth plaintiffs on Monday defended their right to continue their lawsuit alleging the federal government unconstitutionally discriminates against them by favoring the fossil fuel industry's interests.
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August 13, 2024
Tar Sands Firm Strikes SPAC Merger With Integrated Rail
Tar Sands Holdings II LLC, advised by Holland & Hart LLP, plans to go public following a merger with Winston & Strawn LLP-led special purpose acquisition company Integrated Rail and Resources Acquisition Corp., according to a Monday statement.
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August 13, 2024
FirstEnergy Makes Nonprosecution Deal To End Ohio AG Probe
FirstEnergy said Tuesday that it has secured a nonprosecution agreement with Ohio's attorney general stemming from an alleged $1 billion bribery scandal involving the former speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives, with both parties touting the utility company's remediation and compliance improvements.
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August 13, 2024
Quantum Energy Sued For Docs In Del. After SEC Action
A director of Quantum Energy Holdings LLC who joined the company after one of its directors was indicted has sued the firm in Delaware's Court of Chancery, seeking books and records and alleging the company's other directors have "repeatedly thwarted" his efforts to understand the business and its financial condition.
Expert Analysis
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How High Court Approached Time Limit On Reg Challenges
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Corner Post v. Federal Reserve Board effectively gives new entities their own personal statute of limitations to challenge rules and regulations, and Justice Brett Kavanaugh's concurrence may portend the court's view that those entities do not need to be directly regulated, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.
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First-Of-Its-Kind Chancery Ruling Will Aid SPAC Defendants
The Delaware Chancery Court's first full dismissal of claims challenging a special purpose acquisition company transaction under the entire fairness doctrine in the recent Hennessy Capital Acquisition Stockholder Litigation establishes useful precedent to abate the flood of SPAC litigation, say Lisa Bugni and Benjamin Lee at King & Spalding.
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Expect The Unexpected: Contracts For Underground Projects
Recent challenges encountered by the Mountain Valley Pipeline project underscore the importance of drafting contracts for underground construction to account for unexpected site conditions, associated risks and compliance with applicable laws, say Jill Jaffe and Brenda Lin at Nossaman.
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How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts
As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.
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Series
Boxing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Boxing has influenced my legal work by enabling me to confidently hone the skills I've learned from the sport, like the ability to remain calm under pressure, evaluate an opponent's weaknesses and recognize when to seize an important opportunity, says Kirsten Soto at Clyde & Co.
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Opinion
Industry Self-Regulation Will Shine Post-Chevron
The U.S. Supreme Court's Loper decision will shape the contours of industry self-regulation in the years to come, providing opportunities for this often-misunderstood practice, says Eric Reicin at BBB National Programs.
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3 Ways Agencies Will Keep Making Law After Chevron
The U.S. Supreme Court clearly thinks it has done something big in overturning the Chevron precedent that had given deference to agencies' statutory interpretations, but regulated parties have to consider how agencies retain significant power to shape the law and its meaning, say attorneys at K&L Gates.
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Roundup
After Chevron
In the month since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference standard, this Expert Analysis series has featured attorneys discussing the potential impact across 26 different rulemaking and litigation areas.
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Series
After Chevron: Expect Few Changes In ITC Rulemaking
The U.S. Supreme Court's opinion overruling the Chevron doctrine will have less impact on the U.S. International Trade Commission than other agencies administering trade statutes, given that the commission exercises its congressionally granted authority in a manner that allows for consistent decision making at both agency and judicial levels, say attorneys at Polsinelli.
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Opinion
Reform NEPA To Speed Mining Permits, Clean Energy Shift
It is essential to balance responsible regulatory oversight with permit approvals for mining projects that are needed for the transition to renewable energy — and with the National Environmental Policy Act being one of the leading causes of permit delays, reform is urgently needed, say Ana Maria Gutierrez and Michael Miller at Womble Bond.
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Opinion
Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem
The legal industry is engaged in a critical conversation about lawyers' mental health, but current attorney well-being programs primarily focus on helping lawyers cope with the stress of excessive workloads, instead of examining whether this work culture is even fundamentally compatible with lawyer well-being, says Jonathan Baum at Avenir Guild.
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A Case Study For Calif. Cities In Water Utility Takeovers
With growing water scarcity and drier weather looming, some local governments in California have sought to acquire investor-owned water utilities by eminent domain — but the 2016 case of Claremont v. Golden State Water is a reminder that such municipalization attempts must meet certain statutory requirements, say attorneys at Nossaman.
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Series
Skiing And Surfing Make Me A Better Lawyer
The skills I’ve learned while riding waves in the ocean and slopes in the mountains have translated to my legal career — developing strong mentor relationships, remaining calm in difficult situations, and being prepared and able to move to a backup plan when needed, says Brian Claassen at Knobbe Martens.
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Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: June Lessons
In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers two recent decisions from the Third and Tenth Circuits, and identifies practice tips around class action settlements and standing in securities litigation.
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Tracking Implementation Of IRA Programs As Election Nears
As the Biden administration races to cement key regulations implementing the Inflation Reduction Act, a number of the law's programs and incentives are at risk of delay or repeal if Republicans retake control of Congress, the White House or both — so stakeholders should closely watch ongoing IRA implementation and guidance, say attorneys at Squire Patton.