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Environmental
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November 14, 2024
Biden Admin Backs Controversial Alaskan Land Swap, Road
The Biden administration is backing a federal land swap that will allow a road to be built through Alaska's Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, while conservation groups and tribes say the move will cause major impacts to the area's migratory birds and cut off a food source for Indigenous communities.
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November 14, 2024
Split 5th Circ. Affirms SEC's Kroger Proxy Decision
A divided Fifth Circuit on Thursday rejected a "purely theoretical" challenge brought by conservative shareholders unhappy that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission greenlighted the exclusion of a shareholder proposal from Kroger Co.'s 2023 ballot, noting that the case was moot since the company authorized a vote on the proposal anyway.
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November 14, 2024
NY Gov. Brings Back Manhattan Congestion Pricing Plan
The resurrection of New York City's plan to charge all vehicles a fee for entering Manhattan's busiest corridor demonstrates a mad dash in the final months of the Biden administration to expedite infrastructure projects perceived as political lightning rods before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
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November 14, 2024
EPA Expands List of Solvent Risks, Targets Tire Chem Rules
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday said a chemical commonly used in solvents presents health risks to humans in more ways than had previously been stated, and said it's researching whether to regulate a chemical used in tire production that has been shown to kill salmon.
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November 14, 2024
Boeing Could Sell Navigation Unit For $6B, And More Rumors
Boeing is mulling a sale of its Jeppesen navigation unit at potential $6 billion price tag, Pfizer may be seeking billions for its hospital drug unit, and a U.S. gas station and convenience store business could be sold at a $1.5 billion value. Here, Law360 breaks down these and other notable deal rumors from the past week.
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November 14, 2024
Ovintiv Buys Montney Assets For $2.4B, Sells Others For $2B
Natural gas producer Ovintiv Inc. said Thursday it will purchase certain Montney Basin assets in Canada from Paramount Resources Ltd. in an all-cash deal worth about $2.38 billion, and also announced plans to divest its Uinta Basin assets in a sale to FourPoint Resources Ltd. and its private equity partners for $2 billion, with at least five law firms advising on the deals.
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November 14, 2024
Gaetz's Slim Legal Resume Raises Concerns Over AG Role
Having never served as a prosecutor and with minimal experience practicing law, Matt Gaetz would have the thinnest legal resume of any attorney general in recent history and would face a steep learning curve, including daunting leadership challenges, if he were to take up the reins of the U.S. Department of Justice, experts say.
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November 14, 2024
Fake Bear, Real Fraud: Calif. Arrests 4 In Insurance Scheme
Four Los Angeles area residents were charged with insurance fraud and conspiracy after claiming that over $141,000 in damages to luxury autos were caused by a bear, though videos submitted to their insurers showed a person in a bear costume wreaking havoc, a California Department of Insurance spokesperson said.
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November 14, 2024
Trump Picks RFK Jr. To Lead Health & Human Services
President-elect Donald Trump announced Thursday that Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent anti-vaccination activist and former presidential candidate, is his nominee to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
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November 13, 2024
Conn. PFAS Judge Vexed By 'Messy' Pollution Source Query
A Connecticut federal judge weighing the state's motion to remand a pollution lawsuit against 3M and other companies warned Wednesday that the government was advancing "messy" arguments about the sources of contamination, although he did find the case "interesting."
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November 13, 2024
A 3M PFAS Win Could Be Hollow, Mich. Justice Suggests
Michigan Supreme Court justices asked Wednesday what it would mean to invalidate the state's regulations on so-called forever chemicals in drinking water, with one justice commenting that winning the case might be of little consequence for 3M, the company that brought the challenge, while undoing protections for the water supply.
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November 13, 2024
Md. Electricity 'Greenwashing' Law Is A Muzzle, Judge Told
A Maryland law attempting to crack down on electricity suppliers' "greenwashing" claims unconstitutionally mandates companies speak about their product in a way that conforms to what the state considers "sustainable energy," a renewable energy company and an advocacy organization argued in Maryland federal court.
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November 13, 2024
Indigenous Groups Can Join Colombia's Fight With Glencore
An international tribunal has agreed to allow two Indigenous Wayuu communities to express their views about a massive mining project's water use in an arbitral dispute between commodities giant Glencore International AG and the Republic of Colombia.
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November 13, 2024
EPA Tells DC Circ. That Mercury Rule Is Sound
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency told the D.C. Circuit that opponents of its rule strengthening standards for mercury and other toxic air emissions at power plants are seeking to hamstring the agency with a too-narrow interpretation of the Clean Air Act.
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November 13, 2024
Judge To Confirm Ambri Ch. 11 Wind-Down Plan
A Delaware bankruptcy judge Wednesday agreed to approve the Chapter 11 plan of battery company Ambri Inc., which will sell its assets to its lenders and wind down.
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November 13, 2024
LNG Co. Says Full DC Circ. Must Revive Texas Project
The company behind a liquefied natural gas project on the Texas Gulf Coast urged the full D.C. Circuit on Wednesday to vacate a panel's ruling nixing its federal approval, citing another panel's decision finding the White House Council on Environmental Quality's National Environmental Policy Act regulations are unenforceable.
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November 13, 2024
NC Wetlands Developer Wants 4th Circ. To Revive Projects
A North Carolina landowner has urged the Fourth Circuit to block a new rule defining the scope of the Clean Water Act, arguing that the new rule saddles him with "extraordinary compliance costs" for wetland development projects and goes beyond the law's actual scope.
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November 13, 2024
Mass. AG Ready To Reprise Office's Role As Trump Foil
Taking a page from her predecessor's book, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell told Law360 she is hoping to work with the incoming Trump administration, but the Democrat said she is nevertheless prepared to use her office's "significant tools and power" to challenge actions she feels are at odds with her constituents' interests.
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November 13, 2024
Trump Taps DOJ Critic Matt Gaetz For Attorney General
President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday nominated Rep. Matt Gaetz to be the next U.S. attorney general, seeking to elevate a close political ally to lead a Justice Department that the Florida lawmaker has sharply criticized and that last year declined to charge him in a sex-trafficking investigation.
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November 13, 2024
EPA Effluent Rule Is Fatally Flawed, 8th Circ. Told
Republican-led states, utilities and industry groups called on the Eighth Circuit to vacate the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's rule setting new wastewater limitations for coal-fired power plants, saying it is based on economically unavailable technologies in an effort to further the Biden administration's goal of shuttering coal plants.
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November 12, 2024
Trump Taps Elon Musk To Head New 'Gov't Efficiency' Dept.
President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday that billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a newly created "Department in Government Efficiency" for his administration come January.
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November 12, 2024
Ga. Judge Tosses Feral Horses Island Enviro Suit
A Georgia federal judge encouraged the National Park Service to better manage the feral horses of Cumberland Island, even as she dismissed a lawsuit alleging federal and state agencies mistreated the animals and allowed them to trample the habitat, eggs and nests of endangered sea turtles and piping plovers.
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November 12, 2024
Trump Pick To Lead EPA Is Loyal, Would Learn On The Job
President-elect Donald Trump prioritized loyalty and a demonstrated ability to carry out his priorities with his announcement that he intends to nominate a former congressman from New York state to lead the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
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November 12, 2024
Split DC Circ. Says White House Can't Issue NEPA Regs
A divided D.C. Circuit determined Tuesday that the White House Council on Environmental Quality lacks the authority to issue legally binding regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act, finding there is no statutory language showing Congress empowered it to do so.
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November 12, 2024
Mich. High Court Snapshot: 3M's PFAS Fight, Detroit Fire Fees
The Michigan Supreme Court returns to the bench Wednesday in a packed oral argument sitting, including a major case on the viability of state PFAS regulations in a challenge brought by 3M Co.
Expert Analysis
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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.
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Nuclear Waste Storage Questions Justices May Soon Address
The petition for the U.S. Supreme Court to review U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas stands out for a number of reasons — including a deepening circuit split regarding the NRC's nuclear waste storage authority under the Atomic Energy Act, and broader administrative law implications, say attorneys at MoloLamken.
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Series
After Chevron: Conservation Rule Already Faces Challenges
The Bureau of Land Management's interpretation of land "use" in its Conservation and Landscape Health Rule is contrary to the agency's past practice and other Federal Land Policy and Management Act provisions, leaving the rule exposed in four legal challenges that may carry greater force in the wake of Loper Bright, say Stacey Bosshardt and Stephanie Regenold at Perkins Coie.
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Opinion
Big Oil Climate Ruling Sets Dangerous Liability Precedent
The recent Maryland court dismissal of Baltimore's case seeking to hold BP responsible for climate damage mischaracterized the city's injuries as divorced from the conduct that caused them, and could allow companies that conceal the dangers of their products to escape liability, says Randall Abate at George Washington University Law School.
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Opinion
3rd. Circ. Got It Right On Cancer Warning Claims Preemption
The Third Circuit's recent, eminently sensible ruling in a failure-to-warn case against Roundup manufacturer Monsanto, holding that the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act preempts state law claims, provides a road map that other courts should adopt, says Lawrence Ebner at the Atlantic Legal Foundation.
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How Methods Are Evolving In Textualist Interpretations
Textualists at the U.S. Supreme Court are increasingly considering new methods such as corpus linguistics and surveys to evaluate what a statute's text communicates to an ordinary reader, while lower courts even mull large language models like ChatGPT as supplements, says Kevin Tobia at Georgetown Law.
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5 Ways To Confront Courtroom Technology Challenges
Recent cybersecurity incidents highlight the vulnerabilities of our reliance on digital infrastructure, meaning attorneys must be prepared to navigate technological obstacles inside the courtroom, including those related to data security, presentation hardware, video playback and more, says Adam Bloomberg at IMS Legal Strategies.