Energy

  • December 03, 2024

    Investor Attys Seek $6.6M Cut Of $20M Metal Price-Fixing Deal

    Attorneys for investors settling platinum and palladium price-fixing claims against Goldman Sachs and others for $20 million have asked a New York federal judge to award them fees equivalent to a third of the settlement amount, or more than $6.6 million, a below-lodestar request that they said is, "clearly, not a windfall situation."

  • December 03, 2024

    Feds, Nuke Storage Co. Ask Justices To Nix Bar On Waste Site

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Interim Storage Partners LLC are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a Fifth Circuit ruling barring a license for the company to temporarily store spent nuclear fuel at a site in Texas's Permian Basin.

  • December 03, 2024

    DC Circ. Won't Revisit Energy Cos.' $377M Suits

    The D.C. Circuit will not rehear a case brought by renewable energy investors looking to enforce some $377 million in arbitral awards against Spain over nixed economic incentives, declining to revisit its ruling over the summer that the awards can be enforced.

  • December 03, 2024

    ND Calls Tribes' Bid For Riverbed Mineral Rights 'Irrational'

    North Dakota has hit back against the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation's attempt to win a federal court declaration that it owns mineral rights beneath a portion of the Missouri River, arguing that the three tribes' claim of riverbed ownership is "irrational."

  • December 03, 2024

    5th Circ. Judge Doubts Deepwater Horizon Claims Can Survive

    A Fifth Circuit judge on Tuesday questioned whether cleanup workers' claims following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill can survive in the face of a demanding evidence standard adopted from toxic tort cases.

  • December 03, 2024

    Wheeling & Appealing: The Latest Must-Know Appellate Action

    December's appellate forecast calls for a squall of showdowns in a tiny time period before the holidays, including arguments involving recent U.S. Supreme Court cases, Big Tech's patents and popular purveyors of health food. In addition, winds of change are swirling around the White House's litigation posture and judicial nominations, and we'll quiz you on the latter in this edition of Wheeling & Appealing.

  • December 03, 2024

    Colo. Judge Says Oil Co. Misled Competitor In Patent Fight

    A federal magistrate judge in Colorado has recommended that an oil and gas equipment maker be sanctioned in a contentious patent dispute it brought against a rival business, finding the manufacturer knowingly misled the competitor about the priority dates for a trio of patents.

  • December 03, 2024

    Judge Says ND Can Intervene In Dakota Access Pipeline Row

    The state of North Dakota can back the federal government in a challenge by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe over the Dakota Access Pipeline, a federal district court judge said, after the state argued that a shutdown would substantially impact its economy and undermine its sovereign interests.

  • December 03, 2024

    US-China Feud Simmers As Beijing Unveils New Export Curbs

    The Chinese government on Tuesday banned exports of several critical minerals to the U.S., citing national security concerns, a day after the Biden administration announced new restrictions of its own targeting Beijing's semiconductor operations.

  • December 03, 2024

    Data Caps Harm Consumers, Rural Electric Co-Ops Tell FCC

    As the Federal Communications Commission considers the impact of data caps some broadband providers impose on internet service plans, rural electric cooperatives have told the commission that caps are bad for consumers and that their own business model for broadband does not involve such usage limits.

  • December 03, 2024

    Former FirstEnergy CEO Rips SEC's 'Belated' Suit Against Him

    Former FirstEnergy Corp. chief executive officer Charles Jones slammed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's enforcement action against him over his alleged part in the company's widely publicized bribery scandal relating to its nuclear program, calling the suit "belated" and arguing the agency failed to back up its claims.

  • December 03, 2024

    9th Circ. Affirms Circle K's Win In Gas Pricing Row

    The Ninth Circuit upheld Circle K Stores' win against retail gas stations that accused the convenience chain of setting high gas prices in bad faith, finding Tuesday that Circle K's prices were "within the range" of those charged by its competitors and lower than at least one refiner.

  • December 03, 2024

    Willkie Adds Litigation Heavyweight, Energy Expert In DC

    Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP announced Tuesday that it has brought on two Washington, D.C., partners — a new chair for its regulatory litigation practice group who joined from King & Spalding LLP and an energy-focused finance attorney who joined from Greenberg Traurig LLP.

  • December 03, 2024

    Exelon Promotes Ex-FERC Commissioner To Top Legal Role

    Utility company Exelon Corp. announced Tuesday that a former Reed Smith LLP partner and former member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has been named its next chief legal officer, and also said it's also expanding the top legal role.

  • December 03, 2024

    Norton Rose Names US Corporate, M&A And Securities Head

    Norton Rose Fulbright announced Tuesday that it has tapped a New York partner to co-lead its U.S. corporate, mergers and acquisitions, and securities team.

  • December 03, 2024

    Exelon Asks For Corp. AMT To Account For Repairs Deduction

    Power companies should be allowed to account for an industry-specific tax deduction on repair costs to determine whether they're subject to the corporate alternative minimum tax, utility giant Exelon said in a comment letter to the U.S. Treasury Department released Tuesday.

  • December 03, 2024

    Texas Oil Driller Hits Ch. 11 With $207M Debt-Swap Plan

    Oil and gas drilling services provider Independence Contract Drilling has filed for Chapter 11 protection in a Texas bankruptcy court with more than $230 million in debt and a prepackaged debt-swap restructuring plan.

  • December 02, 2024

    Russia Looks To 4 FSIA Cases In Bid To Stay $5B Award Suit

    Russia urged a D.C. federal judge to pause a case against it by a Yukos Oil Co. unit seeking to enforce $5 billion in arbitral awards, saying Monday that four parallel Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act cases are pending before the Supreme Court and the D.C. Circuit that could affect the suit.

  • December 02, 2024

    Government Mole Faces Tough Cross From Madigan's Atty

    An attorney for former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan got his chance Monday to question the ex-Chicago alderman who recorded his client while cooperating with the government, pushing him to admit that Madigan never explicitly conditioned his support on legal business for his law firm or told the alderman to vote against developers who didn't hire him for tax work.

  • December 02, 2024

    DC Circ. Asked To Spike 'Dangerous' NEPA Regulatons Ruling

    Environmental groups are asking the D.C. Circuit to overturn a panel's "demonstrably dangerous" ruling that the White House Council on Environmental Quality lacks the authority to issue legally binding regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act.

  • December 02, 2024

    Remediation Co. Says Anadarko Can't Support Coverage Bid

    An environmental remediation company urged a Texas federal court to deny Anadarko Petroleum Corp.'s bid for an early win in a dispute over coverage for a decade-old Louisiana kickback suit, saying the oil producer failed to show that it's entitled to a defense and indemnity.

  • December 02, 2024

    Porsche Taycan's EV Batteries Are Defective, Suit Says

    Porsche Cars NA Inc. is facing a proposed class action in Georgia federal court over allegations that it failed to disclose or adequately repair a defect in the 800V lithium-ion batteries in its Taycan electric vehicles for the model years 2020-2024.

  • December 02, 2024

    Mining Cos. Ask Justices To Sink Peruvians' Pollution Claims

    The Renco Group Inc., owned by U.S. billionaire Ira Rennert, has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn an Eighth Circuit ruling that greenlit a lawsuit filed by more than 2,000 Peruvians who are seeking to hold The Renco Group and other companies liable for alleged lead poisoning tied to a smelting and refining complex in rural Peru.

  • December 02, 2024

    Chancery OKs $345M Fee Award For $55B Musk Pay Fight

    Delaware's chancellor approved a $345 million attorney fee award Monday in the case that scuttled Tesla CEO Elon Musk's 10-year, $55.6 billion compensation plan, rejecting the plaintiff's bid for $5.6 billion in freely tradable company shares and declining to reinstate Musk's proposed pay.

  • December 02, 2024

    Solar Cos. Ask High Court To Review Vermont-Imposed Fine

    Allco Renewable Energy Ltd. and several other companies pursuing a solar generation project in Bennington, Vermont, are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to wade into their row with the Vermont Public Utility Commission and hold that it had no authority to impose a civil penalty on them without a jury trial.

Expert Analysis

  • Empathy In Mediation Offers A Soft Landing For Disputes

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    Experiencing a crash-landing on a recent flight underscored to me how much difference empathy makes in times of crisis or stress, including during mediation, says Eydith Kaufman at Alternative Resolution Centers.

  • Series

    Being An Artist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My work as an artist has highlighted how using creativity and precision together — qualities that are equally essential in both art and law — not only improves outcomes, but also leads to more innovative and thoughtful work, says Sarah La Pearl at Segal McCambridge.

  • How Judiciary Can Minimize AI Risks In Secondary Sources

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    Because courts’ standing orders on generative artificial intelligence and other safeguards do not address the risk of hallucinations in secondary source materials, the judiciary should consider enlisting legal publishers and database hosts to protect against AI-generated inaccuracies, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

  • Jarkesy May Short-Circuit FERC Enforcement Cases

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    As a result of the U.S. Supreme Court's June decision in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission recently suspended an enforcement proceeding under the Natural Gas Act — and the commission's customary use of administrative hearings in such proceedings could face major changes, say attorneys at Willkie.

  • How Attorneys Can Break Free From Career Enmeshment

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    Ambitious attorneys can sometimes experience career enmeshment — when your sense of self-worth becomes unhealthily tangled up in your legal vocation — but taking the time to discover and realign with your core personal values can help you recover your identity, says Janna Koretz at Azimuth Psychological.

  • UCC Article 12 Offers Banks A Chance To Dive Into 'DePINs'

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    The 2022 update to Article 12 of the Uniform Commercial Code, which provides a legal framework for decentralized physical infrastructure networks, could offer trade and commodity finance banks attractive opportunities, like the energy-related DePIN projects that have recently made headlines, says Chris McDermott at Cadwalader.

  • Lawyers With Disabilities Are Seeking Equity, Not Pity

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    Attorneys living with disabilities face extra challenges — including the need for special accommodations, the fear of stigmatization and the risk of being tokenized — but if given equitable opportunities, they can still rise to the top of their field, says Kate Reder Sheikh, a former attorney and legal recruiter at Major Lindsey & Africa.

  • High Stakes In Justices' Review Of Clean Air Act Venue Fights

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    Disputes over the Clean Air Act's venue provision may seem arcane, but a forthcoming U.S. Supreme Court decision encompassing three cases will affect core principles of the separation of powers and constitutional due process in ways that could have significant consequences for the regulated community, say J. Michael Showalter and David Loring at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Testing The Waters As New Texas Biz Court Ends 2nd Month

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    Despite an uptick in filings in the Texas Business Court's initial months of operation, the docket remains fairly light amid an apparent wait-and-see approach from some potential litigants, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

  • Opinion

    Judicial Committee Best Venue For Litigation Funding Rules

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    The Advisory Committee on Civil Rules' recent decision to consider developing a rule for litigation funding disclosure is a welcome development, ensuring that the result will be the product of a thorough, inclusive and deliberative process that appropriately balances all interests, says Stewart Ackerly at Statera Capital.

  • The Strategic Advantages Of Appointing A Law Firm CEO

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    The impact on law firms of the recent CrowdStrike outage underscores that the business of law is no longer merely about providing supplemental support for legal practice — and helps explain why some law firms are appointing dedicated, full-time CEOs to navigate the challenges of the modern legal landscape, says Jennifer Johnson at Calibrate Strategies.

  • The Ups And Downs Of SEC's Now-Dissolved ESG Task Force

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Climate and ESG Enforcement Task Force, which was quietly disbanded sometime over the summer, was marked by three years of resistance from some stakeholders to ESG regulation, a mixed record in the courts and several successful enforcement actions, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • What Hawaii High Court Got Right And Wrong In AIG Ruling

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    Though the Hawaii Supreme Court in its recent Aloha Petroleum v. National Union Fire Insurance decision correctly adopted the majority rule that recklessly caused harm is an accident for coverage purposes, it erred in its interpretation of the pollution exclusion by characterizing climate change as "traditional environmental pollution," say attorneys at Haynes Boone.

  • Series

    Beekeeping Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The practice of patent law and beekeeping are not typically associated, but taking care of honeybees has enriched my legal practice by highlighting the importance of hands-on experience, continuous learning, mentorship and more, says David Longo at Oblon McClelland.

  • Useful Product Doctrine May Not Shield Against PFAS Liability

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    Courts have recognized that companies transferring hazardous recycled materials can defeat liability under environmental laws by showing they were selling a useful product — but new laws in California and elsewhere restricting the sale of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances may change the legal landscape, says Kyle Girouard at Dickinson Wright.

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