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Energy
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June 12, 2024
Lumen Board Faces Investor Suit Over Lead Cable Liability
The board members of Louisiana-headquartered telecommunications company Lumen Technologies Inc. face a shareholder derivative suit alleging they breached their fiduciary duties following revelations about, and subsequent scrutiny of, lead components of the company's physical cable networks.
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June 12, 2024
SPAC Dealmakers Expect Modest Pickup After Market Bottom
Market professionals expect a slow pickup in deals involving special-purpose acquisition companies starting in the second half of 2024, predicting on Wednesday that a leaner market will emerge following the recent crash and imposition of tighter regulations.
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June 12, 2024
2 Men Get Prison For Plot To Sell Iranian Oil To China
Two men convicted for their role in a scheme to sell Iranian oil to a Chinese company have been sentenced to nearly four years in prison each, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
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June 12, 2024
Energy Co. Says Specialist Can't Get Arbitration Exemption
A natural gas company told a Texas appellate court Wednesday that an environmental specialist injured in a pipeline explosion isn't covered by an exemption for interstate commerce work in the Federal Arbitration Act, arguing that allowing him to claim the exemption would be akin to allowing a janitor to do the same.
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June 12, 2024
Matador Paying $1.9B For EnCap Delaware Basin Assets
Dallas-based Matador Resources Co. said Wednesday it has agreed to pay just over $1.9 billion for a subsidiary of the EnCap Investments portfolio company Ameredev II Parent, taking control of oil and natural gas producing properties across the Delaware Basin.
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June 12, 2024
Pillsbury Adds Aviation-Focused Bankruptcy Partner In NY
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP has hired a corporate restructuring partner with aviation expertise for its insolvency and restructuring group in New York.
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June 11, 2024
SIFMA, Missouri Seek Early End To Anti-ESG Rules Suit
The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association and Missouri state officials have filed dueling summary judgment bids in SIFMA's suit over the state's anti-ESG rules for brokers and advisers, with SIFMA claiming the rules violate the First Amendment, and both sides painting the issue as a matter of states' rights versus federal preemption.
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June 11, 2024
Ariz. Wants To Oppose Its Legislature In Monument Lawsuit
The state of Arizona wants to intervene in a lawsuit by its Republican House and Senate lawmakers that challenges President Joe Biden's proclamation designating an Indigenous site in the Grand Canyon region a national monument, arguing that the legislative body lacks authority to assert those claims in federal district court.
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June 11, 2024
DC Circ. Affirms Petrobras' Immunity Denial In Fraud Case
The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday affirmed the denial of Petrobras' immunity defense against an investor fraud lawsuit filed after the petroleum company was implicated in a sprawling bribery scheme, ruling that the alleged fraud caused a direct impact on the United States sufficient to pull Petrobras into the court's jurisdiction.
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June 11, 2024
St. Kitts Electric Co. Claims Win In $2.7M ICC Arbitration
St. Kitts Electricity Company Ltd. has announced its successful defense of an approximately $2.7 million international arbitration brought against it by Pure Energy Solutions Ltd., saying an arbitrator decided it didn't breach the two companies' fuel supply agreement.
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June 11, 2024
Ore. County Climate Suit Sent To State Court
An Oregon federal judge sent Multnomah County's climate change lawsuit against Chevron, Exxon Mobil Corp. and other fossil fuel companies back to state court, adopting a magistrate judge's findings rejecting arguments the complaint was fraudulently crafted to evade federal jurisdiction.
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June 11, 2024
Smoking Habit Can't Nix Retired Miner's Black Lung Benefits
The Seventh Circuit on Monday backed a review board's decision to uphold black lung benefits for a retired coal worker who smoked cigarettes through his entire career in the mines, saying it wouldn't second-guess medical findings made at the administrative level.
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June 11, 2024
AES Sued In Del. For 'Weaponized' Advance Notice Bylaws
Global utility and power company The AES Corp. has "weaponized" advance notice requirements in its bylaws to make it "unreasonably difficult, if not impossible," for stockholders to nominate candidates for the company's board, a stockholder has alleged in a new Delaware Court of Chancery suit.
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June 11, 2024
Brazilian Energy Co. Gets $73M ICC Award OK'd
A Manhattan federal court has confirmed a $73 million arbitration award granted to a Brazilian renewable energy company that claimed a Chinese solar cell manufacturer had refused to deliver an order of photovoltaic cells the two companies had agreed upon.
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June 11, 2024
DOE Urges DC Circ. To Extinguish Furnace Rule Fight
The U.S. Department of Energy on Monday defended its tighter energy efficiency standards for furnaces and water heaters, telling the D.C. Circuit that arguments that the new regulations unlawfully force a costly switch to new appliances are meritless.
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June 11, 2024
Enviro Suit Says BLM Well Policy Leaves Drilling Unchecked
An environmental group is suing the Bureau of Land Management to invalidate drilling permits in and around Colorado's Pawnee National Grassland, claiming the agency has given up authority to regulate the surface impacts of certain wells in violation of its federal mandates.
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June 11, 2024
Ex-Whiteford Corporate Leader Joins Baker Donelson
Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC announced that the former business and corporate law co-chair at Whiteford Taylor & Preston LLP has joined its Baltimore office as a shareholder.
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June 11, 2024
Elon Musk Sued Anew In Del. Over $16B Tesla Stock Sale
A Tesla shareholder has hit Elon Musk with a lawsuit over his 2021 sale of $16 billion worth of stock just before his purchase of Twitter, claiming the billionaire profited by concealing his intent to buy the social media platform and made the purchase in part to reinstate former President Donald Trump's account.
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June 10, 2024
Calif. Targets Oil Giants' Profits In Amended Climate Suit
California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday tweaked the state's climate deception suit against Exxon Mobil Corp., Shell, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and BP to also target the oil and gas companies' "illegally obtained" profits under a recently enacted state law.
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June 10, 2024
Debevoise Aims To Sink Cognizant Bribery Trial Subpoena
Debevoise & Plimpton LLP urged a New Jersey federal judge Monday to quash defendants' trial subpoena that would require a Debevoise partner to testify in an upcoming September criminal bribery trial against ex-Cognizant Technology Solutions's chief legal officer and another former executive, arguing that the testimony is subject to attorney-client privilege.
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June 10, 2024
Bloomberg's Utility Bond Changes Hurt Consumers, Suit Says
Bloomberg LP was hit with a proposed class action by California and Texas electricity customers who claim the company reclassified certain bonds issued by utility companies to elevate their perceived risk and hike interest rates, a move they say benefited institutional investors but imposed increased costs on electricity customers.
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June 10, 2024
Exxon Says Activist Investor Could Still Target Core Business
Exxon Mobil Corp. sought Monday to keep alive its lawsuit against Arjuna Capital LLC in Texas federal court, arguing that the activist investor could still work behind the scenes to submit climate-related shareholder proposals despite promises in court that it will not.
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June 10, 2024
Contractor Seeks Win In Protest Of $186M In DOD Fuel Deals
A bid protester has urged the Court of Federal Claims to rule that the Defense Logistics Agency wrongly ignored signs of misconduct from two companies awarded $186 million in fuel delivery deals in Syria and Iraq, and disqualify the companies.
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June 10, 2024
EPA Air Compliance Rule Trumps State Powers, DC Circ. Told
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency usurped state authority when it issued a final rule changing the deadline for states to submit Clean Air Act compliance plans for power plants and other existing facilities within their borders, 25 Republican-led states told the D.C. Circuit.
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June 10, 2024
Supreme Court Rejects WWII Oil Refinery Cleanup Appeal
The U.S. Supreme Court left intact on Monday a Sixth Circuit decision that the federal government can't be held liable for environmental contamination left behind by oil refineries during World War II, rejecting a petition for certiorari filed by Valero Energy Corp.
Expert Analysis
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Freight Forwarders And Common Carriers: Know Your Cargo
Freight forwarders and other nonprincipal parties involved in global cargo movement should follow the guidance in the multi-agency know-your-cargo compliance note to avoid enforcement actions should they fail to spot evasive tactics used in supply chains to circumvent U.S. sanctions and export controls, say attorneys at Venable.
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SG's Office Is Case Study To Help Close Legal Gender Gap
As women continue to be underrepresented in the upper echelons of the legal profession, law firms could learn from the example set by the Office of the Solicitor General, where culture and workplace policies have helped foster greater gender equality, say attorneys at Ocean Tomo.
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The Latest Antitrust Areas For In-House Counsel To Watch
The U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission's increasingly aggressive approach to antitrust enforcement means in-house counsel should closely monitor five key compliance issues, say attorneys at Squire Patton.
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Del.'s Tesla Pay Takedown Tells Boards What Not To Do
The Delaware Chancery Court’s ruthless dissection of the Tesla board’s extreme departures from standard corporate governance in its January opinion striking down CEO Elon Musk’s $55 billion pay package offers a blow-by-blow guide to mistakes Delaware public companies can avoid when negotiating executive compensation, say attorneys at Cleary.
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The Corporate Disclosure Tug-Of-War's Free Speech Issues
The continuing conflict over corporate disclosure requirements — highlighted by a lawsuit against Missouri's anti-ESG rules — has important implications not just for investors and regulated entities but also for broader questions about the scope of the First Amendment, say Colin Pohlman, and Jane Luxton and Paul Kisslinger at Lewis Brisbois.
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3 Administrative Law Lessons From 5th Circ. Appliance Ruling
Showing that mundane details can be outcome-determinative, the Fifth Circuit's recent decision in Louisiana v. U.S. Department of Energy — that the government's repeal of rules affecting dishwashers and laundry machines is invalid — highlights the relationship between regulatory actions and statutory language, say Michael Showalter and Vyasa Babu at ArentFox Schiff.
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Aviation Back On Course, But Keep Seat Belts Fastened
While the airline industry finally returned to profitability last year for the first time since the onset of COVID-19, and is poised for historic levels of traffic in 2024, supply chain problems and economic and geopolitical uncertainty persist — so more turbulence may lie ahead, say Kevin Lewis and Bart Biggers at Sidley.
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Employer Trial Tips For Fighting Worker PPE Pay Claims
Courts have struggled for decades to reach consensus on whether employees must be paid for time spent donning and doffing personal protective equipment, but this convoluted legal history points to practical trial strategies to help employers defeat these Fair Labor Standards Act claims, say Michael Mueller and Evangeline Paschal at Hunton.
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Reimagining Law Firm Culture To Break The Cycle Of Burnout
While attorney burnout remains a perennial issue in the legal profession, shifting post-pandemic expectations mean that law firms must adapt their office cultures to retain talent, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.
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Series
ESG Around The World: Brazil
Environmental, social and governance issues have increasingly translated into new legislation in Brazil since 2020, and in the wake of these recently enacted regulations, we are likely to see a growing number of legal disputes in the largest South American country related to ESG issues such as greenwashing if companies are not prepared to adequately adapt and comply, say attorneys at Mattos Filho.
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Vagueness In Calif. Climate Law Makes Compliance Tricky
California's recently enacted Voluntary Carbon Market Disclosures Act requires companies making claims of carbon neutrality, or significant greenhouse gas emissions reductions, to disclose information supporting those claims — but vague and conflicting language in the statute poses multiple problems for businesses, say John Rousakis and Chris Bowman at O'Melveny.
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Series
Competing In Dressage Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My lifelong participation in the sport of dressage — often called ballet on horses — has proven that several skills developed through training and competition are transferable to legal work, especially the ability to harness focus, persistence and versatility when negotiating a deal, says Stephanie Coco at V&E.
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Harmonizing Agricultural And Clean Energy Goals
Congress' extension of the Farm Bill offers a chance to more thoroughly consider innovation and investments that could transform the competition between farmers and solar developers into synergistic agrivoltaic systems, which use land for both agriculture and solar energy generation, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.
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CFTC Moves May Boost Interest In Voluntary Carbon Markets
As companies try to reduce their net greenhouse gas emissions, many have been cautious about embracing voluntary carbon credit markets — but recent moves by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission to regulate this sector may address some of its well-known challenges, say Deborah North and Laura Daugherty at Cleary.
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3 Strategies For Aggressive Judgment Enforcement
As illustrated by the many creditors of Citgo Petroleum Corp. who may walk away empty-handed — despite the company's court-ordered sale — it is important to start investigating counterparty assets and planning for enforcement even before obtaining a judgment, says Brian Asher at Asher Research.