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Environmental
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November 08, 2024
Kentucky Utility Asks High Court To Stay EPA Coal Ash Rule
A Kentucky electric utility called on the U.S. Supreme Court to halt the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's rule strengthening federal regulations requiring safe management of coal ash dumped at operating and retired power plants, while it appeals the D.C. Circuit's refusal to block the rule.
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November 08, 2024
Special Master Recommends $7.8M For Flint Plaintiffs' Attys
A Special Master has recommended that attorneys representing plaintiffs in the Flint Water Crisis litigation receive $7.8 million in fees for their role in securing a $25 million settlement with Veolia North America finalized last month.
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November 08, 2024
Landowners Ink $6.5M Deal To Cap Inactive Gas Wells
A group of landowners is asking a West Virginia federal court to approve a proposed settlement that would have Diversified Energy Co. more than quadruple its commitment to plugging inactive gas wells that it obtained from EQT Corp., meaning that it will cap off at least 2,600 wells in West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Tennessee by 2035.
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November 08, 2024
White & Case Adds Life Sciences IP Atty From A&O Shearman
A veteran life sciences patent litigator has jumped from Allen Overy Shearman Sterling to White & Case LLP in New York, expanding the firm’s capabilities to represent medical and pharmaceutical industry clients in complex litigation.
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November 08, 2024
Experienced Dealmakers Lead 3 SPACs Raising $365M Total
Three special purpose acquisition companies began trading Friday after pricing initial public offerings that raised $365 million combined under guidance from four law firms, marking the latest sign that more SPACs, particularly those with prior deals under their belts, are willing to test an improving market.
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November 08, 2024
NC Furniture-Maker Demands Hurricane Helene Coverage
A North Carolina furniture manufacturing facility is blaming its insurer for wrongfully using a flood damage exclusion to avoid covering more than $75,000 of damage to its premises following 2024's Hurricane Helene.
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November 08, 2024
Gov't Union Continues Organizing Push For DOJ Attys
Attorneys in the U.S. Department of Justice's civil rights and environment divisions are stepping up their efforts to organize with the National Treasury Employees Union, the union confirmed Friday, as federal workers brace for coming changes under President-elect Donald Trump's new administration.
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November 08, 2024
Judge Will Give Solar Co. $3M Interim Lifeline In Ch. 11
A Delaware bankruptcy judge said Friday she will grant Oya Renewables, a solar energy producer with offices in Boston and Toronto, interim access to $3 million in postpetition funding on offer from its Chapter 11 stalking horse bidder once some final modifications are made.
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November 08, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen collapsed German airline Air Berlin take action against its former auditor KPMG, the associate editor at The Spectator hit with a libel claim by a mosque over the far-right riots that took place in August and British licensing authority the Performing Right Society sue Parklife Manchester and four other festival organizers. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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November 07, 2024
Plastics Industry Can't Stop Calif. AG's Pollution Subpoena
A D.C. federal judge on Wednesday denied a plastics industry group's second bid to stop California's attorney general from enforcing a subpoena in a global plastic pollution probe, saying the group again failed to establish that the court had personal jurisdiction over the Golden State's top attorney.
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November 07, 2024
W.Va. Coal Mine Held In Contempt Again Over Pollution
A West Virginia federal judge held Lexington Coal Co. in contempt for a third time on Thursday over the company's continued failure to address ionic pollution caused by its coal mining operations in Appalachia, ordering it to pay a $50,000 fine and establish a $100,000 fund to achieve compliance.
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November 07, 2024
NM Tribe Settles Land Claim Dispute With Feds
The Pueblo of Jemez and the U.S. government have settled in New Mexico federal court the tribe's claim on land within the Valles Caldera National Preserve, finally agreeing in the 12-year-old dispute that Jemez has aboriginal title to an area known as Banco Bonito.
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November 07, 2024
7th Circ. Sends Refuge Power Line Fight Back To Wis. Judge
A Seventh Circuit panel scrapped stayed preliminary injunctions that temporarily blocked a power transmission line from crossing the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, directing a Wisconsin federal judge to determine if conservation groups' request for permanent relief is warranted or even possible with the line now built.
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November 07, 2024
Apache Say 'Stakes Are Clear' In Oak Flat Land Dispute
The federal government is trying to manufacture problems by claiming that a law aimed at protecting the religious rights of minorities can't apply to later-enacted statutes, an Apache nonprofit has told the U.S. Supreme Court in its bid to save a sacred worship site in Arizona from mining destruction.
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November 07, 2024
Attys For Solar Co. Ex-CEO Should Be DQ'd, Plaintiffs Say
The lawyers representing the former CEO of a bankrupt solar energy company should be disqualified, attorneys for the plaintiffs in a suit against him said Wednesday, arguing that the firm had multiple conflicts of interest with its work as in-house counsel for the solar energy company and was intentionally delaying discovery because of its "obvious web of conflicting obligations."
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November 07, 2024
Ex-Cop, Brother Admit Energy Contract Kickback Scheme
A former Massachusetts police officer and his electrician brother pled guilty Wednesday to paying off employees of a utility ratepayer-funded energy savings program administrator who steered $36 million in contracts their way, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
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November 07, 2024
Calif. Gov. Lays Groundwork To Fight Trump Policies In Court
California Gov. Gavin Newsom called a special legislative session on Thursday to fund litigation against President-elect Donald Trump's potential erosion of abortion rights, immigration protections and environmental progress, saying lawyers for the blue state have already begun preparing "to challenge in court unconstitutional and unlawful federal policies."
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November 07, 2024
Shook Hardy Adds Former Assistant Illinois AG
In its effort to become one of the nation's premier white collar firms, Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP is bringing in from Dechert LLP a former Illinois assistant attorney general as a partner in its Chicago office.
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November 07, 2024
Louisiana Says EPA Usurped State Power In Pollution Row
The state of Louisiana told the Fifth Circuit that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has no authority to invalidate a two-year compliance deadline extension the state granted to a neoprene manufacturer, which is being sued by the agency.
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November 07, 2024
Ex-GE Affiliate Cleared In Bellwether Chemical Leak Verdict
A Louisiana jury has cleared General Electric Co. and former subsidiary Dresser LLC of liability in a bellwether suit over allegations that they improperly disposed of chemicals that contaminated the Rapides Parish area.
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November 07, 2024
Paul Hastings Lands Morgan Lewis Enviro Litigator In Dallas
Paul Hastings LLP announced Thursday that it is expanding its top-notch environmental litigation practice into Texas with a partner in Dallas who came aboard from Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP and is the latest in a string of additions this year that has tripled the firm's Lone Star State headcount.
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November 06, 2024
Trump's Win Likely To Spur Deals For Capital Markets Attys
Former President Donald Trump's decisive win in Tuesday's presidential election will enable deals to proceed on a more certain basis, capital markets advisers said Wednesday, citing pent-up demand to restart capital raising after a long period of subdued activity.
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November 06, 2024
DOI Signs Bison Conservation Pact With Canada And Mexico
The U.S. Department of the Interior said it has inked a new agreement with Canada and Mexico to work on strengthening conservation of the American bison across its range in North America while focusing on historic Indigenous ties with the species.
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November 06, 2024
Alaska Asks 9th Circ. To Roll Back Ringed Seal Protections
The state of Alaska called on the Ninth Circuit to overturn a district court's refusal to eliminate Endangered Species Act protections for Arctic ringed seals, arguing the federal government failed to properly credit new information that raised serious questions about the necessity for continuing protections.
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November 06, 2024
Customers Look To Preserve Lead Class Action Against AT&T
AT&T shareholders are telling a Texas federal judge that the company acted with scienter when it allegedly misled investors about the removal of lead-covered copper cables from its network, pushing back on AT&T's motion to dismiss the suit stemming from a drop in the company's stock price.
Expert Analysis
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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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What NYC's Green Fast Track Means For Affordable Housing
New York City's Green Fast Track for Housing initiative, which went into effect last month, aims to speed up the environmental review process for modest residential developments and could potentially pave the way for similar initiatives in other cities, say Vivien Krieger and Rachel Scall at Cozen O'Connor.
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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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After Chevron
Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference standard in June, this Expert Analysis series has featured attorneys discussing the potential impact across 37 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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Calif. Long-Tail Ruling Continues Policyholder-Friendly Trend
The California Supreme Court's recent ruling in Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser Cement & Gypsum, rejecting horizontal policy exhaustion, was the latest in a string of its decisions involving insurance coverage for continuous or progressive injury claims that favor policyholders, say Billie Mandelbaum and David Goodwin at Covington.
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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
NY Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2
The second quarter of 2024 saw less enforcement activity in the realm of New York financial services, but brought substantial regulatory and legislative developments, including state regulators' guidance on cybersecurity compliance and customer service processes for virtual currency entities, say James Vivenzio and Andrew Lucas at Perkins Coie.
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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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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.
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Unpacking The Circuit Split Over A Federal Atty Fee Rule
Federal circuit courts that have addressed Rule 41(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are split as to whether attorney fees are included as part of the costs of a previously dismissed action, so practitioners aiming to recover or avoid fees should tailor arguments to the appropriate court, says Joseph Myles and Lionel Lavenue at Finnegan.
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4 Steps To Repair Defense Credibility In Opening Statements
Given the continued rise of record-breaking verdicts, defense counsel need to consider fresh approaches to counteract the factors coloring juror attitudes — starting with a formula for rebuilding credibility at the very beginning of opening statements, says Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies.