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Environmental
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October 25, 2024
Feds Fight New Claim In Suit Over Dredged-Waste Disposal
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has urged an Illinois federal judge to throw out the latest claim from an environmental coalition and a community group in litigation challenging the agency's continued use of a disposal facility for dredged material on Lake Michigan's shoreline, saying the claim was tacked on too late.
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October 25, 2024
Biden Admin Puts Up $4B For Clean Energy, Grid Projects
The Biden administration on Friday said it's handing out approximately $4 billion in combined grants and loans for clean energy purchases and grid upgrades for a slew of states, tribes and electricity co-operatives.
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October 25, 2024
DC Circ. Won't Block EPA Emissions Rule For Steel Plants
A split D.C. Circuit panel has denied bids by U.S. Steel Corp. and Cardinal-Cliffs Inc. to hit pause on a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule setting emission standards for integrated iron and steel manufacturing facilities.
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October 25, 2024
BLM Gives Green Light To Nevada Lithium Mine
The Biden administration has announced that it's approving the proposed Rhyolite Ridge lithium mine in southeast Nevada, a decision a conservation group said threatens to push an imperiled wildflower species into extinction.
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October 25, 2024
Maritime Unions Tell EPA To Reject Calif. Workboat Rule
Three maritime labor unions and a tugboat trade association called on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan to deny California's request for a Clean Air Act waiver to enforce its rule mandating the installation of diesel particulate filter technology on workboats.
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October 24, 2024
EPA Agrees To Review Nitrogen Oxides Standard By 2028
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday that it would revisit its national ambient air quality standards for nitrogen oxides by 2028 under a proposed consent decree reached with conservation groups.
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October 24, 2024
DOJ Reaches $102M Deal In Baltimore Bridge Collapse Suit
The owner and the manager of the cargo ship that slammed into Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge in March has agreed to pay $102 million to settle the U.S. Department of Justice's civil lawsuit alleging gross negligence on their part killed six people and destroyed a vital transportation corridor.
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October 24, 2024
Enviro Attys Must Teach Judges Science, Wash. Justice Says
Attorneys shouldn't assume that judges are up to speed on scientific evidence that they're reviewing and instead should work on building judges' knowledge and helping them "feel smart," a Washington Supreme Court justice told environmental lawyers on Thursday.
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October 24, 2024
Colo. Justices Hesitant To Extend Personhood To Elephants
Colorado Supreme Court justices appeared unlikely Thursday to grant habeas corpus rights to elephants in a zoo, repeatedly asking an animal rights group seeking to send the elephants to a sanctuary where the court should draw the line on personhood.
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October 24, 2024
Dems From Storm-Impacted States Call For Probes Of Misinfo
Democratic lawmakers from states recently impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton asked the leadership of three House committees on Wednesday to investigate and hold hearings on the "troubling surge" in the spread of misinformation, scams and conspiracy theories about the storms on social media.
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October 24, 2024
EPA, Air Force Commit To PFAS Plan For Tucson Airport
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Air Force said they're committing to a framework to address "forever chemical" contamination at the Tucson International Airport Area Superfund Site in southeastern Arizona.
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October 24, 2024
EPA Can't Rush Truck Electrification, DC Circ. Hears
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a trucking industry group have thrown their support behind challengers' attempts to upend the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's greenhouse gas emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles, telling the D.C. Circuit that the agency is trying to accomplish too much too soon.
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October 24, 2024
DC Circ. Ruling Endangers Distressed Texas Area, Port Says
The owner of the Port of Brownsville in Texas is urging the D.C. Circuit to consider the devastating impacts a panel's decision to vacate Federal Energy Regulatory Commission reauthorization orders for two major liquefied natural gas projects threatens to impose on the region.
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October 24, 2024
EPA Finalizes New Standards For Lead Paint Dust
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday said it's finalizing standards to better protect people from lead paint dust exposure, reducing the level considered hazardous and the levels that can remain after abatement work.
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October 24, 2024
Mining Eligible In Final Regs For Energy Manufacturing Credit
The U.S. Treasury Department's final rules released Thursday on a valuable tax credit for manufacturing key components and materials used in clean energy technologies allow producers to take into account the costs to mine and extract critical minerals.
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October 23, 2024
Conn. Judge Rejects Utility's Defenses In Site Cleanup Battle
An Avangrid Inc. unit hasn't sufficiently rebutted the Connecticut government's claims that it's taking too long to clean up the long-defunct English Station power plant site in New Haven under a partial consent order, a state court judge has ruled.
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October 23, 2024
Pa. County Defends Climate Change Suit Against BP, Chevron
BP, Chevron, Exxon Mobil and other major oil companies can't argue that a federal environmental statute sinks a climate change lawsuit because the claims fall outside of the law's purview, a Pennsylvania county told a state court.
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October 23, 2024
EPA's GHG Power Plant Rule Is Achievable, Scientists Say
A half-dozen prominent scientists and engineers have told the D.C. Circuit that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's plan to tap carbon capture and sequestration technology to reduce power plants' greenhouse gas pollution is on point and readily achievable.
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October 23, 2024
No More Coverage For Paper Co.'s Pollution Claim, Panel Says
A WestRock Co. subsidiary that owned a Montana paper mill later identified as a Superfund site isn't entitled to additional coverage from its AIG insurer, an Illinois state appeals court ruled, saying two pollution conditions on the property were related and subject to a single $5 million limit of liability.
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October 23, 2024
Religion Law Can't Save Sacred Worship Site, High Court Told
A law designed to protect religious freedom can't help an Apache nonprofit's bid to save a sacred worship site in Arizona from destruction, the federal government said, arguing that the tribe is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to nullify a congressional statute crafted to allow federal third-party land transfers.
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October 23, 2024
USDA Unveils $1.5B In Conservation, Climate-Smart Projects
The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday revealed a $1.5 billion investment in 92 partner-driven conservation projects through the agency's Regional Conservation Partnership Program.
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October 23, 2024
Judge Says Ex-Steward Hospital Nurse Row Out Of His Hands
A Texas bankruptcy judge Wednesday declined to order the new owner of former Steward Health Care hospitals in Massachusetts to take back changes to nurses' union contracts it assumed under his sale order, saying it wasn't up to him to make the call.
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October 23, 2024
'Alkaline Water' Co. Hit With $5B In Punitive Damages
A Nevada jury awarded $5 billion in punitive damages Wednesday in a 15-plaintiff trial over liver damage linked to Real Water's "alkaline water," the largest verdict yet in ongoing litigation against the bankrupt company.
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October 23, 2024
EPA Can't Restart Crafting Smog Rule, DC Circ. Told
A group of Democratic-led state governments is telling the D.C. Circuit that the Clean Air Act doesn't mandate reconsideration of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's 2023 "Good Neighbor" emissions regulation as two steel manufacturers say.
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October 23, 2024
Roundup Suit Pared As Preemption Claim Sways Mass. Judge
A Massachusetts judge has dismissed portions of a suit claiming a woman's use of the weedkiller Roundup caused her cancer, ruling a federal labeling law preempts her theory that Monsanto failed to warn consumers about the chemical's dangers.
Expert Analysis
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Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: September Lessons
In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy identifies practice tips from four recent class certification rulings involving denial of Medicare reimbursements, automobile insurance disputes, veterans' rights and automobile defects.
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6 Tips For Trying Cases Away From Home
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
A truly national litigation practice, by definition, often requires trying cases in jurisdictions across the country, which presents unique challenges that require methodical preparation and coordination both within the trial team and externally, say Edward Bennett and Suzanne Salgado at Williams & Connolly.
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A Blueprint For Structuring An Effective Plaintiff Case Story
The number and size of nuclear verdicts continue to rise, in part because plaintiffs attorneys have become more adept at crafting compelling trial stories — and an analysis of these success stories reveals a 10-part framework for structuring an effective case narrative, says Jonathan Ross at Decision Analysis.
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Series
Round-Canopy Parachuting Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Similar to the practice of law, jumping from an in-flight airplane with nothing but training and a few yards of parachute silk is a demanding and stressful endeavor, and the experience has bolstered my legal practice by enhancing my focus, teamwork skills and sense of perspective, says Thomas Salerno at Stinson.
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And Now A Word From The Panel: The MDL Map
An intriguing yet unpredictable facet of multidistrict litigation practice is venue selection for new MDL proceedings, and the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation considers many factors when it assigns an MDL venue, says Alan Rothman at Sidley Austin.
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Why Now Is The Time For Law Firms To Hire Lateral Partners
Partner and associate mobility data from the second quarter of this year suggest that there's never been a better time in recent years for law firms to hire lateral candidates, particularly experienced partners — though this necessitates an understanding of potential red flags, say Julie Henson and Greg Hamman at Decipher Investigative Intelligence.
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Reassessing Lease Provisions To Account For ESG Initiatives
As companies seek to build ESG considerations into their businesses, it's crucial to understand how such initiatives can quickly become significant enough to compel reassessment of lease agreement provisions, and how best to modify leases accordingly, say Julian Freeman and Gabe Pitassi at Cox Castle.
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Considering Possible PR Risks Of Certain Legal Tactics
Disney and American Airlines recently abandoned certain litigation tactics in two lawsuits after fierce public backlash, illustrating why corporate counsel should consider the reputational implications of any legal strategy and partner with their communications teams to preempt public relations concerns, says Chris Gidez at G7 Reputation Advisory.
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Integrating ESG Into Risk Management Programs
Amid increasing regulations and reporting requirements for corporate sustainability in the European Union and the U.S., companies might consider how to incorporate environmental, social and governance factors into more formalized risk management, say directors at Alvarez & Marsal.
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How Labeling And Testing May Help Reduce PFAS Litigation
As regulators take steps to reduce consumers’ exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as forever chemicals, companies can take a proactive approach to mitigating litigation risks not only by labeling their products transparently, but also by complying with testing and marketing standards, says Sarah La Pearl at Segal McCambridge.
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It's No Longer Enough For Firms To Be Trusted Advisers
Amid fierce competition for business, the transactional “trusted adviser” paradigm from which most firms operate is no longer sufficient — they should instead aim to become trusted partners with their most valuable clients, says Stuart Maister at Strategic Narrative.
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Avoid Getting Burned By Agencies' Solar Financing Spotlight
Recently coordinated reports and advisories from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission maximize the spotlight on the consumer solar financing market and highlight pitfalls for lenders to avoid in this burgeoning field, says Mercedes Tunstall at Cadwalader.
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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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5 Credibility Lessons Trial Attys Can Learn From Harris' Run
In launching a late-stage campaign for president, Vice President Kamala Harris must seize upon fresh attention from voters to establish, or reestablish, credibility — a challenge that parallels and provides takeaways for trial attorneys, says Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies.
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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.