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Environmental
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October 29, 2024
Mining Regs Have World Effect On Tribes, High Court Told
A chief of an Indigenous Brazilian community is backing an Arizona tribe in its bid to overturn a decision that allows a copper mining company to discharge treated wastewater into a local waterway, telling the Supreme Court that pollution from such operations impacts more than just health around the world.
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October 29, 2024
6th Circ. Judge Doubts Airport Funding Made It Federal Agent
A Sixth Circuit judge on Tuesday said he saw "problems" with a Michigan airport's argument that federal grants had enough requirements to make the airport effectively a federal officer, suggesting it cannot litigate a suit over its PFAS-containing firefighting foam in federal court.
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October 29, 2024
PTAB Upholds Solar Co.'s Power Supply Patent
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has shot down a bid from a German solar energy technology company's U.S. unit to invalidate a competitor's solar power supply patent, the latest blow to the subsidiary in a larger patent fight.
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October 29, 2024
DQ'd Zeta Atty Using MDL Info In Other Cases, Plaintiffs Say
A group of crew members aboard a Transocean drilling rig during Hurricane Zeta asked a Harris County judge Monday to sanction the company and its former law firm, writing that a former attorney has continued to use information he obtained while working on the case despite being disqualified in 2023.
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October 29, 2024
Texas Judge Rejects Early Win In Water Pollution Dispute
A Texas federal judge denied on Tuesday an insurer's bid for an early win in its lawsuit against a water supply company accused of providing contaminated water to Cameron County residents, despite the insurer's argument that pollution exclusions in multiple policies bar coverage for the underlying claims.
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October 29, 2024
6th Circ. Judge Rejects Flint Comparison In Benton Harbor
A Sixth Circuit judge asked during oral arguments Tuesday if Michigan's government could have done more to monitor the response to lead contamination in a city's water supply, as another judge seemed to doubt that the allegations against the state rose to the level of constitutional violations.
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October 29, 2024
ND Riverbed Fight Has Been Festering For 50 Years, Court Told
A Native American tribe and the U.S. Department of the Interior are asking a federal court to deny a more than yearlong extension request by North Dakota to respond to a bid for a judgment that declares the state has no mineral rights beneath a portion of the Missouri River.
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October 29, 2024
BOEM Holds Gulf Of Maine Wind Lease Sale
An offshore wind lease sale held Tuesday for the Gulf of Maine saw two provisional winners for four lease areas with the potential to power some 2.3 million homes, according to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
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October 29, 2024
FERC Botched Pacific NW Pipeline Approval, 5th Circ. Told
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission was wrong to approve a controversial TC Energy Corp. pipeline expansion project in the Pacific Northwest, Washington and Oregon officials and environmental groups told the Fifth Circuit.
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October 29, 2024
NJ Recycler, Insurer Settle Suit Over Millions In Fire Damage
A New Jersey recycling center has agreed to drop its suit over its insurer's alleged refusal to cover millions in losses stemming from an April 2023 fire at its facility, according to court documents.
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October 29, 2024
MVP: Beveridge & Diamond's Parker Moore
Parker Moore of Beveridge & Diamond PC, who helped advance the fiercely contested Mountain Valley Pipeline and settled litigation against a leading supplier of endotoxin testing products, is now helping defend tiremakers in litigation over the rubber additive 6PPD, earning him a spot as one of the 2024 Law360 Environmental MVPs.
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October 28, 2024
Hershey's 'Bubble Yum' Contains PFAS, Consumer Alleges
The existence of "forever chemicals" in The Hershey Co.'s Bubble Yum brand bubblegum undermines the multinational candy company's commitment to transparency about the ingredients in its products, a new proposed false advertising class action filed in California state court alleges.
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October 28, 2024
Sterigenics Says Residents Can't Tie Harms To Ethylene Oxide
Medical sterilization company Sterigenics US LLC and its parent, Sotera Health LLC, are asking a Georgia state judge to exclude expert testimony put forward by Peach State residents alleging their ethylene oxide emissions harmed them, and to dismiss the residents' claims against them.
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October 28, 2024
Texas Sues Biden Admin Over Mussels' Endangered Status
Texas sued the U.S. Department of the Interior over a recent federal classification naming several central-Texas mussel species as endangered or threatened, telling a Texas federal court Monday that the agencies failed to consider current conservation efforts and economic impacts of the new rule.
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October 28, 2024
Flint Bellwether Delayed On Eve Of Trial, Again
A Michigan federal judge delayed Monday a bellwether trial set to determine if a water engineering firm was professionally negligent for its role in the Flint water crisis one day before jury selection was scheduled to begin and without explanation.
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October 28, 2024
Pennsylvania Judge Yanks Delaware River Port Approvals
A Pennsylvania federal judge ruled Monday that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers "arbitrarily and capriciously departed from its own procedures" in authorizing plans for a new port on the Delaware River in Delaware, downriver from Philadelphia, ordering the agency to conduct a closer review of the project.
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October 28, 2024
Fla. Condo Sues Flood Insurer Over Undervalued Storm Claim
A Florida condominium association damaged by a 2022 hurricane has alleged its insurance company failed to provide adequate compensation under the terms of a $13 million policy in accordance with its mandate with the National Flood Insurance Porgram.
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October 28, 2024
DC Circ. Told Carbon Tech Doesn't Back EPA Power Plant Rule
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency can't show that carbon capture and sequestration technology can be used now to meet its new emissions requirements for power plants, necessitating vacatur, Republican-led states and industry challengers told the D.C. Circuit.
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October 28, 2024
Calif.'s 2018 Fire Reimbursement Suit Meets Skeptical Judge
A Los Angeles judge appeared dubious Monday that the state of California can use litigation against Southern California Edison to recover emergency funds distributed to local agencies that responded to the destructive Woolsey Fire in 2018.
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October 28, 2024
New Jury Ordered In 'Cop City' Trial Over Court Closure
A defendant in the sprawling, 61-person racketeering indictment of protesters against Atlanta's controversial "Cop City" police training center will get another shot at jury selection after the Georgia Court of Appeals said Monday that a Fulton County trial judge unjustifiably closed her courtroom to the public and the press.
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October 28, 2024
Asheville Federal Courthouse Reopens After Hurricane Helene
The North Carolina federal courthouse in Asheville reopened Monday for the first time after flooding and outages from Hurricane Helene forced its indefinite closure last month.
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October 28, 2024
Brouillette Stepping Down As Utility Trade Group's Head
Dan Brouillette, a former energy secretary during the Trump administration, on Monday said he will be leaving his role as president and CEO of the Edison Electric Institute later this year to focus on global energy challenges.
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October 28, 2024
MVP: Sidley's Justin Savage
Sidley Austin LLP partner Justin Savage has been a steady hand for the firm's clients over the past year, helping BP PLC and Cummins Inc. resolve federal investigations, leading a charge to force Alexandria, Virginia, to stop decades of coal tar discharges into the Potomac River, and successfully advocating for refineries' and petrochemical plants' interests in federal rulemaking — earning him a spot among the 2024 Law360 Environmental MVPs.
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October 25, 2024
NEPA Rail Ruling Backers Flood Justices With Amicus Briefs
Former federal officials, states, Colorado cities, two law schools and 30 members of Congress are all urging the U.S. Supreme Court to affirm a ruling overturning federal approval for a rail project to haul crude oil out of Utah, rather than reinvent the National Environmental Policy Act as project supporters propose.
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October 25, 2024
Green Group Blames NJ For Decline In Sturgeon Population
The state of New Jersey isn't doing enough to prevent the accidental catching of endangered fish, activists said in a lawsuit accusing the state's Department of Environmental Protection of violating the Endangered Species Act.
Expert Analysis
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With Esmark Case, SEC Returns Focus To Tender Offer Rules
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent enforcement action against Esmark in connection with its failed bid to acquire U.S. Steel indicates the SEC's renewed attention under Rule 14e‑8 of the Exchange Act on offerors' financial resources as a measure of the veracity of their tender offer communications, say attorneys at MoFo.
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Deadline Extension Highlights PFAS Reporting Complexities
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recent extension of reporting and recordkeeping timelines for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances under the Toxic Substances Control Act offers relief to the regulated community, but the unprecedented volume of data required means that businesses must remain diligent in their data collection efforts, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.
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6th Circ. Preemption Ruling Adds Uncertainty For Car Cos.
Automakers and their suppliers need uniformity under the law to create sufficient scale and viable markets — but the Sixth Circuit's recent decision in Fenner v. General Motors creates more uncertainty around the question of when state law consumer claims related to violations of federal vehicle emissions and fuel economy standards are preempted, say attorneys at Sidley.
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State Of The States' AI Legal Ethics Landscape
Over the past year, several state bar associations, as well as the American Bar Association, have released guidance on the ethical use of artificial intelligence in legal practice, all of which share overarching themes and some nuanced differences, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law Group.
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Review Shipping Terms In Light Of These 3 Global Challenges
Given tensions in the Middle East, labor unrest at U.S. ports and the ongoing consequences of climate change, parties involved in maritime shipping must understand the relevant contract provisions and laws that may be implicated during supply chain disruptions in order to mitigate risks, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
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Cos. Face Increasing Risk From Environmental Citizen Suits
Environmental citizen suits stepping in to fill the regulatory vacuum concerning consumer goods waste may soon become more common, and the evolving procedural landscape and changes to environmental law may contribute to companies' increased exposure, say J. Michael Showalter and Bradley Rochlen at ArentFox Schiff.
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How BIS' Rule Seeks To Encourage More Voluntary Disclosure
Updated incentives, penalties and enforcement resources in the Bureau of Industry and Security's recently published final rule revising the Export Administration Regulations should help companies decide how to implement export control compliance programs and whether to disclose possible violations, say attorneys at Freshfields.
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8 Childhood Lessons That Can Help You Be A Better Attorney
A new school year is underway, marking a fitting time for attorneys to reflect on some fundamental life lessons from early childhood that offer a framework for problems that no legal textbook can solve, say Chris Gismondi and Chris Campbell at DLA Piper.
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Navigating Complex Regulatory Terrain Amid State AG Races
This year's 10 attorney general elections could usher in a wave of new enforcement priorities and regulatory uncertainty, but companies can stay ahead of the shifts by building strong relationships with AG offices, participating in industry coalitions and more, say Ketan Bhirud and Dustin McDaniel at Cozen O’Connor.
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How The 2025 Tax Policy Debate Will Affect The Energy Sector
Regardless of the outcome of the upcoming U.S. election, 2025 will bring a major tax policy debate that could affect the energy sector more than any other part of the economy — so stakeholders who could be affected should be engaging now to make sure they understand the stakes, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.
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Sublimit And Policy Interpretation Lessons From Amtrak Case
The recently settled dispute between Amtrak and its insurers over sublimit coverage illustrates that parties with unclear manuscript policies may wish to avoid litigation in favor of settlement — as the New York federal court declined to decide the case by applying prior term interpretations, says Laura Maletta at Chartwell Law.
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3rd Circ. Hertz Ruling Highlights Flawed Bankruptcy Theory
The Third Circuit, in its recent Hertz bankruptcy decision, became the latest appeals court to hold that noteholders were entitled to interest before shareholders under the absolute priority rule, but risked going astray by invoking the flawed theory of code impairment, say Matthew McGill and David Casazza at Gibson Dunn.
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Opinion
This Election, We Need To Talk About Court Process
In recent decades, the U.S. Supreme Court has markedly transformed judicial processes — from summary judgment standards to notice pleadings — which has, in turn, affected individuals’ substantive rights, and we need to consider how the upcoming presidential election may continue this pattern, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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The Complex Challenges Facing Sustainable Food Packaging
More and more states are requiring recycled content to be used in product packaging, creating complex technological and regulatory considerations for manufacturers who must also comply with federal food safety requirements, say Peter Coneski and Natalie Rainer at K&L Gates.
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Int'l Agreements Are Key For Safe Nuclear Waste Disposal
By replacing fossil fuels, nuclear energy has the potential to offer a major contribution to the global fight against climate change — but ensuring that nuclear power is safe and sustainable will require binding, multinational agreements for safe nuclear waste disposal, say Ryan Schermerhorn and Christopher Zahn at Marshall Gerstein.