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Native American
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May 02, 2024
No Damages For Native Americans In State Prison
A group of Native Americans is not entitled to millions in compensation for wrongful prosecution and incarceration in state prison, a Federal Circuit panel said, finding that the group's arguments that provisions of two 19th century self-government rights' treaties as "money-mandating" are unpersuasive.
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May 02, 2024
Haaland Faces Senate Heat Over Interior Dept.'s Land Policies
U.S. Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland on Tuesday defended her agency's commitment to fostering energy development on public lands as U.S. senators criticized her agency over issues ranging from new rules to the pace of energy leasing and project permitting.
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May 02, 2024
11th Circ. Rules Tribal Co. Is Not Immune In Trade Secrets Suit
The Eleventh Circuit has revived a tribal-owned defense contractor's suit against another tribal-owned competitor and a former employee for allegedly stealing trade secrets, finding the competitor agreed to federal court jurisdiction when it participated in the bidding process for work on a missile detection system.
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May 01, 2024
DC Circ. Scrutinizes Social Welfare In Tribe's Land Trust Bid
The D.C. Circuit on Wednesday grappled with whether a Native American tribe's bid to compel the federal government to take land into trust for a casino venture would promote tribe members' social welfare, as one judge sounded wary of such a move's repercussions.
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May 01, 2024
9th Circ. Slams Door On Kids' Climate Case
The Ninth Circuit ordered an Oregon federal judge Wednesday to immediately dismiss a closely watched suit by young adults against the federal government over the effects of climate change, saying its earlier order to end the matter could not be brushed off.
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May 01, 2024
Feds Approve Disaster Aid For Oklahoma Storm Victims
Three Oklahoma counties will receive federal aid to help recover from severe storms and tornadoes that left four dead and nearly 300 injured last month, with damage totals likely to grow as assessments continue throughout the Sooner State.
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May 01, 2024
Tribe Fires Back At Feds' Brief In Enbridge Pipeline Row
The Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians has called on the Seventh Circuit to reject in part the federal government's position in an appeal over the future of Enbridge Energy's controversial Line 5 oil pipeline.
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May 01, 2024
Army Corps Says Taking Over Fla. CWA Permits Is No Problem
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Tuesday told the D.C. Circuit that, following a lower court's decision to strip Florida of its authority to administer a Clean Water Act permitting program, it has already taken over the work and expects no serious issues.
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April 30, 2024
Feds Say Treaties Don't Protect Utah Tribe In Land Row
Efforts by a Utah tribe to restore public lands to a trust status that would prevent federal officials from illegally accessing the property are based on a false premise, the United States said, arguing that two 19th century laws support its bid to dismiss the case.
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April 30, 2024
PolyMet Must Give Up More Info In Mining Land Swap Suit
A federal judge has declined to sanction a Minnesota mining company in a discovery challenge by the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa but ordered it to produce certain previously withheld information in the tribe's bid to undo a land swap for copper and nickel mining.
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April 30, 2024
Minn. Tribes Seek Support For Five 'Land Return' Bills
More than 20 Minnesota-based groups have urged state lawmakers to vote in favor of five "land return" bills that would give back state-owned lands to Native American tribes, saying the measures support the legal return of Indigenous lands along with their continued use by the public.
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April 30, 2024
Final Biden Enviro Review Regs Puts Onus On Agencies
The Biden administration on Tuesday finalized its second round of revisions to regulations governing federal agencies' environmental reviews, but how agencies weave the new guidelines into their project permitting processes will be where the regulatory rubber hits the road, experts say.
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April 30, 2024
Alaskan Builder Says Army Corps Delayed $41.2M Deal
An Alaska construction company is protesting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' decision to boot it off a $41.2 million military construction project for delays, telling the U.S. Court of Federal Claims that the Corps caused the delays.
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April 30, 2024
EPA Chief Faces House Appropriators Hostile To Agency Regs
Former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke grilled U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan at a congressional budget hearing Tuesday, telling him a new coal-fired power plant emissions rule threatens to increase ratepayer costs.
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April 29, 2024
Insurer Looks To Block $5.3M Theft Claim From Tribal Court
An Ohio-based insurance company has sued several members of the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, asking a Florida federal court to exercise jurisdiction in a coverage dispute over a $5.3 million loss from the tribe's casino by former employees.
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April 29, 2024
US, Tribes Defend Water Rule Against States', Biz Groups' Suit
The federal government and several Native American tribes on Friday asked a North Dakota federal judge to toss a lawsuit by two dozen states challenging a rule defining the reach of the Clean Water Act's jurisdiction.
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April 29, 2024
BNSF Balks At $1.3B Demand For Trespass On Tribal Lands
BNSF Railway Co. has told a federal Washington court to reject a tribe's bid for $1.3 billion in damages from years of illegally running oil cars across tribal territory, arguing that its financial responsibility should be limited to the small land area it trespassed.
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April 29, 2024
Defendant Seeks Tribe's Confidential Data In Smoke Shop Suit
An entrepreneur being sued by the Cayuga Nation is arguing in New York federal court that he should be allowed to view "highly confidential" spreadsheets purportedly detailing revenue losses the tribe suffered due to an unlicensed smoke shop on tribal land, asserting he has no business ties to the store.
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April 29, 2024
Biden Admin's Border Wall Plan Must Be Vacated, Court Told
Texas and Missouri again urged a federal judge Monday to vacate the Biden administration's plan to redirect congressional funding for a southern U.S. border wall as the White House pushed back, saying it would be an overreach to eliminate its directive.
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April 29, 2024
Fruit Co. Must Face Pollution Suit From Tribe, Enviro Groups
A Michigan federal judge has ruled a fruit and vegetable company can't escape claims it unlawfully contaminated nearby wetlands with polluted wastewater discharges, saying the company's defense essentially ignores the primary theory of liability put forward by a Native American tribe and two environmental groups.
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April 26, 2024
Law360 Reveals Titans Of The Plaintiffs Bar
In the past year, plaintiffs have won settlements and judgments for millions and billions of dollars from companies such as Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Facebook and Fox News, with many high-profile cases finally wrapping up after years of fighting. Such cases — involving over-the-top compensation packages, chemical contamination, gender discrimination and data mining — were led by attorneys whose accomplishments earned them recognition as Law360's Titans of the Plaintiffs Bar for 2024.
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April 26, 2024
4 Takeaways From Final EPA Power Plant Rules
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's long-awaited rule limiting greenhouse gas emissions from power plants accelerates the timeline for the electricity sector's transition away from fossil fuels, though there's plenty of legal and political uncertainty to consider. Here are four key takeaways from the EPA's power plant moves.
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April 26, 2024
Support For 9th Circ. Rehearing In Oak Flat Dispute Mounting
At least 100 religious and nonprofit groups, law scholars, Native American coalitions and tribes are urging the Ninth Circuit to consider a full panel en banc hearing on a challenge to block a copper mining company from destroying a sacred Indigenous religious site in central Arizona.
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April 26, 2024
Fla. Wants DC Circ. To Pause Wetlands Permits Decision
The state of Florida has called on the D.C. Circuit to pause a lower court's February ruling that stripped the state of its federally delegated authority to administer a Clean Water Act permitting program until its appeal is resolved, arguing the decision is likely to be reversed.
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April 25, 2024
Ariz. Tribes, Groups Seek Stay In SunZia Power Line Ruling
Native American tribes and environmentalists are asking an Arizona federal district court for an emergency injunction that would stay a ruling that rejected their bid to block work on SunZia's $10 billion transmission line while they appeal the decision, arguing that construction is already going ahead in culturally sensitive locations.
Expert Analysis
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Opinion
Water Infrastructure Crisis Requires Private Investment
The federal government is in the process of distributing billions of dollars recently allocated for upgrades to U.S. water infrastructure — but capital, beyond what government can provide, is needed to fully address decades of neglect, meaning that private investment must be a part of the solution, says Damian Georgino at Womble Bond.
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Rebuttal
Law Needs A Balance Between Humanism And Formalism
A recent Law360 guest article rightly questions the pretextual pseudo-originalism that permits ideology to masquerade as judicial philosophy, but the cure would kill the patient because directness, simplicity and humanness are achievable without renouncing form or sacrificing stare decisis, says Vanessa Kubota at the Arizona Court of Appeals.
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Short Message Data Challenges In E-Discovery
As short message platforms increasingly dominate work environments, lawyers face multiple programs, different communication styles and emoji in e-discovery, so they must consider new strategies to adapt their processes, says Cristin Traylor at Relativity.
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Opinion
Thomas Report Is Final Straw — High Court Needs Ethics Code
As a recent report on Justice Clarence Thomas' ongoing conflicts of interest makes evident, Supreme Court justices should be subject to an enforceable and binding code of ethics — like all other federal judges — to maintain the credibility of the institution, says Erica Salmon Byrne at Ethisphere.
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Joint Representation Ethics Lessons From Ga. Electors Case
The Fulton County district attorney's recent motion to disqualify an attorney from representing her elector clients, claiming a nonconsentable conflict of interest, raises key questions about representing multiple clients related to the same conduct and highlights potential pitfalls, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Grace Wynn at HWG.
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Lawyer Discernment Is Critical In The World Of AI
In light of growing practical concerns about risks and challenges posed by artificial intelligence, lawyers' experience with the skill of discernment will position them to help address new ethical and moral dilemmas and ensure that AI is developed and deployed in a way that benefits society as a whole, says Jennifer Gibbs at Zelle.
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Opinion
It's Time For Lawyers To Stand Up For Climate Justice
The anniversary this week of the Deepwater Horizon disaster offers an opportunity for attorneys to embrace the practice of just transition lawyering — leveraging our skills to support communities on the front lines of climate change and environmental catastrophe as they pursue rebuilding and transformation, says Amy Laura Cahn at Taproot Earth.
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Don't Forget Alumni Engagement When Merging Law Firms
Neglecting law firm alumni programs after a merger can sever the deep connections attorneys have with their former firms, but by combining good data management and creating new opportunities to reconnect, firms can make every member in their expanded network of colleagues feel valued, say Clare Roath and Erin Warner at Troutman Pepper.
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Without Stronger Due Diligence, Attys Risk AML Regulation
Amid increasing pressure to mitigate money laundering and terrorism financing risks in gatekeeper professions, the legal industry will need to clarify and strengthen existing client due diligence measures — or risk the federal regulation attorneys have long sought to avoid, says Jeremy Glicksman at the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office.
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Every Lawyer Can Act To Prevent Peer Suicide
Members of the legal industry can help prevent suicide among their colleagues, and better protect their own mental health, by learning the predictors and symptoms of depression among attorneys and knowing when and how to get practical aid to peers in crisis, says Joan Bibelhausen at Minnesota Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers.
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Building On Successful Judicial Assignment Reform In Texas
Prompt action by the Judicial Conference could curtail judge shopping and improve the efficiency and procedural fairness of the federal courts by implementing random districtwide assignment of cases, which has recently proven successful in Texas patent litigation, says Dabney Carr at Troutman Pepper.
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Do Videoconferences Establish Jurisdiction With Defendants?
What it means to have minimum contacts in a foreign jurisdiction is changing as people become more accustomed to meeting via video, and defendants’ participation in videoconferencing may be used as a sword or a shield in courts’ personal jurisdiction analysis, says Patrick Hickey at Moye White.
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Opinion
Humanism Should Replace Formalism In The Courts
The worrying tendency for judges to say "it's just the law talking, not me" in American decision writing has coincided with an historic decline in respect for the courts, but this trend can be reversed if courts develop understandable legal standards and justify them in human terms, says Connecticut Superior Court Judge Thomas Moukawsher.
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Buy America Guidance Still Unclear On Treaty Obligations
Both initial and proposed guidance on implementation of the Build America, Buy America Act failed to address potential conflicts with international treaty commitments, which means federal agencies and states may implement Buy America procurement policies in a manner that violates U.S. trade obligations, say attorneys at Akin.
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Don't Let Client Demands Erode Law Firm Autonomy
As clients increasingly impose requirements for attorney hiring and retention related to diversity and secondment, law firms must remember their ethical duties, as well as broader issues of lawyer development, culture and firm integrity, to maintain their independence while meaningfully responding to social changes, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.