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Energy
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January 17, 2025
DC Circ. Seems Of Split Mind On EPA Air Compliance Suit
The D.C. Circuit seemed split Friday on what to do about a Republican state-led appeal accusing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of stepping on their toes when issuing a rule that changed the deadline for submitting Clean Air Act compliance plans for power plants.
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January 17, 2025
Texas-Led States Join Challenge To EPA Methane Tax
A coalition of Texas-led states has joined a slew of industry groups challenging a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule that imposes fees oil and gas companies must pay if their methane emissions exceed certain thresholds.
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January 17, 2025
FirstEnergy Execs Hit With RICO Charges Over Bribe Scandal
Two former executives of FirstEnergy Corp. have been hit with federal racketeering charges over their alleged scheme to bribe Ohio House of Representatives members for a billion-dollar bailout that has drawn scrutiny from government agencies and led to long prison sentences for others involved in the scandal.
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January 17, 2025
Sidley-Led Hennessy Capital's 7th SPAC Raises $175M
Blank-check company Hennessy Capital Investment Corp. VII began trading publicly on Friday after raising $175 million in its initial public offering, which will be used to merge with a company in the industrial technology or energy transition sectors.
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January 17, 2025
GOP Reps. Look To End President's National Monument Power
Two Republican members of Congress have launched a bill seeking to strip the president's power to declare national monuments, saying the Antiquities Act of 1906 is in dire need of reform that would hand over that authority to Congress.
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January 17, 2025
Colo. Judge Rejects Xcel's Bid To Move Wildfire Trial
A Colorado state judge has rejected Xcel Energy's bid to move a September trial over its alleged liability for a 2021 wildfire away from where the fire took place, finding the utility company failed to show six fair jurors can't be found in a county of more than 300,000 people.
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January 17, 2025
US Steel Can't Quicken Probe Into Alleged Merger Plot
U.S. Steel won't get an expedited look into communications between rival Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. and the United Steelworkers to look for evidence of an alleged conspiracy to sabotage its $14.9 billion merger with Japan's Nippon Steel Corp., after a Pittsburgh federal judge deemed the request "premature" on Friday.
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January 17, 2025
Energy Co. To Pay $19M SEC Fine Over Ohio Bribery Scandal
American Electric Power Inc. on Friday agreed to pay $19 million to resolve claims from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that the utility company violated federal securities laws in connection with a bribery scandal embroiling the Ohio Legislature.
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January 17, 2025
DC Circ. Sends LNG-By-Rail Rule Back To Drawing Board
The D.C. Circuit on Friday wiped out a Trump-era rule allowing liquefied natural gas to be transported by rail and said any replacement rule must contain an extensive environmental review given the catastrophic risks of an accident or spill.
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January 17, 2025
Mich. Local Power Rule Needs Stricter Scrutiny, 6th Circ. Says
A split Sixth Circuit panel said a requirement for Michigan electricity suppliers to source some of their power locally may be unconstitutional and must be reviewed again by a lower court because it disadvantages out-of-state energy producers.
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January 17, 2025
PE-Backed M&A Values, Megadeals Surged In 2024
Private equity-backed merger and acquisition values jumped nearly 25% year-over-year in 2024, while PE-backed megadeals valued above $5 billion more than doubled, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.
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January 17, 2025
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen the family of the late chairman of Leicester City FC sue a helicopter manufacturer for £2.15 billion ($2.63 billion), Vivienne Westwood bring a copyright claim against the late designer's foundation and blockchain giant Tether file a new claim in its ongoing dispute with crypto trading firm Swan Bitcoin. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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January 16, 2025
US Could Soon Find Itself On Wrong End Of Energy Disputes
America's energy landscape has been marked in recent years by the Biden administration's enthusiastic support of renewable energy projects, but international disputes experts are predicting that the incoming Trump administration's promise to derail such projects could land the U.S. in legal hot water.
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January 16, 2025
Nicaragua Co. In Solar Row Asks Texas Justices For New Trial
A Nicaragua company tapped to build a solar park in that country asked the Texas Supreme Court to wade into its long-running dispute with companies that allegedly conspired to sell it tens of thousands of counterfeit solar panels.
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January 16, 2025
Trump's DOT Pick Says Air Safety, New Tech Big Priorities
President-elect Donald Trump's would-be transportation secretary pledged to oversee a leaner and more efficient U.S. Department of Transportation focused on expediting project permitting, prioritizing mega infrastructure projects, and ensuring that Boeing and aviation safety gets "back on track."
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January 16, 2025
Quarry, Conn. Town Eye Settlement In $9.5M Shutdown Feud
The town of East Haven, Connecticut, and a quarry owner are in settlement talks to end both a lawsuit and an appeal of the owner's $10.6 million bench trial win on claims he was forced to shut down operations for improper political reasons, a federal district court filing indicates.
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January 16, 2025
Mining Co. Can Intervene In Nevada Lithium Project Suit
A Nevada federal judge is allowing the owner and developer behind the Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Mine to intervene in a dispute over the U.S. Department of the Interior's authorization of the project, saying the company satisfies all intervention requirements.
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January 16, 2025
Chancery Nixes More Docs For Exxon-Pioneer Merger Suit
Ruling that "any further intrusions are unwarranted," Delaware's Court of Chancery on Thursday rejected a Pioneer Natural Resources stockholder bid for additional emails and text messages between the company's former CEO and Exxon Mobil Corp.'s top executive related to the two company's $60 billion merger.
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January 16, 2025
Trump EPA Pick Faces Climate Questions, Dodges Details
President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday tried to steer clear of controversy at a Senate confirmation hearing, taking a conciliatory tone, deferring judgment on specific matters and promising to exercise independence.
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January 16, 2025
Interior Nom Stresses Need For More Fossil Fuels
Interior secretary nominee Doug Burgum said on Thursday that he will promote U.S. energy dominance and add more fossil fuel-derived electricity to the grid, as Democrats and Republican senators sparred over how much emphasis should be given to renewables.
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January 16, 2025
Boiler Co. Blamed For Carbon Monoxide Deaths In $18M Suit
The home-heating boiler in a Massachusetts home where three people died of carbon monoxide poisoning last year lacked a sensor or switch that would have shut it down after water from condensation blocked an improperly installed vent pipe, a lawsuit filed in state court Wednesday alleges.
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January 16, 2025
Texas Ozone Fight A Repeat Of 2007, EPA Tells 5th Circ.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said that Texas is feigning a misunderstanding of the Clean Air Act, saying it couldn't have hit the state with a "surprise switcheroo" because it was in an identical situation more than a decade earlier.
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January 16, 2025
NC Biz Court Bulletin: Judge Bids Adieu, TikTok Wants Out
The North Carolina Business Court's former chief judge hung up his robes for the last time as the court entered the new year with a ruling that shapes the fate of beset real estate company MV Realty's consumer fraud trial and arguments by TikTok Inc. that its platform being "too engaging" isn't enough for the state to begin an enforcement action.
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January 16, 2025
Madigan Racketeering Case Will Go To Jury
The Illinois federal judge overseeing a criminal racketeering trial against former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and his longtime friend and political ally made certain Thursday that the jury will deliberate and decide the case, rejecting severance and acquittal requests on the last day of evidence.
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January 16, 2025
Phillips Mum On Future As FERC Chairmanship Nears End
Willie Phillips on Thursday acknowledged that his time as Federal Energy Regulatory Commission chairman is coming to an end, but wouldn't say whether he will leave the agency once President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
Expert Analysis
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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.
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5 Tips To Succeed In A Master Of Laws Program And Beyond
As lawyers and recent law school graduates begin their Master of Laws coursework across the country, they should keep a few pointers in mind to get the most out of their programs and kick-start successful careers in their practice areas, says Kelley Miller at Reed Smith.