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Environmental
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December 19, 2024
Feds Could Pay $1.1M To Settle WWII Refinery Waste Fight
A Valero Energy Corp. unit is asking a Michigan federal judge to sign off on a deal that would have the U.S. government pay it $1.1 million for cleanup costs allegedly stemming from the government's wartime operations at a refinery in Houston.
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December 19, 2024
$1.2B Sought From Phillips 66 After $605M Trade Secrets Win
A retailer of low-carbon fuels has asked a California state court to add $1.2 billion to a $604.9 million trade secrets verdict against Phillips 66, arguing that the jury's conclusion that Phillips 66's misappropriation of confidential information was willful and malicious merits exemplary damages.
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December 19, 2024
Graphite Cos. Seek Up To 920% Tariffs On Chinese Products
A group of graphite producers is asking the federal government to impose tariffs as high as 920% on Chinese rivals to hamper that country's alleged tactics of producing and exporting natural and synthetic graphite at low, unfair prices.
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December 19, 2024
Michigan's Biggest Decisions Of 2024
This year, the Michigan Supreme Court instituted sweeping changes to the state's wage and paid leave laws, took some damages off the table for wrongful death plaintiffs, and recognized third-party retaliation claims.
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December 19, 2024
Bain Capital Wants Out Of Bias Claims From Attorney
Bain Capital has asked a New Jersey state court to toss discrimination claims brought by a former in-house attorney for a chemicals company it had acquired, alleging she was unlawfully dismissed after she discussed taking leave to recover from a miscarriage.
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December 19, 2024
Chemours, DuPont Say New Info Undermines Class Cert.
The Chemours Co. FC LLC and EIDP Inc. are asking a North Carolina federal judge to decertify classes in a consolidated suit alleging that they knew about PFAS leaks into their water systems, saying information that's come to light since the certification disqualifies the named plaintiffs from representing the class and undermines the alleged common proof of their claims.
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December 18, 2024
Feds Get Judge's OK On $150M Lower Passaic Pollution Deal
A New Jersey federal judge Wednesday signed off on the federal government's $150 million consent decree with 82 companies that share some responsibility for the Garden State's Lower Passaic River pollution, calling the agreement "an important next step" in holding the companies accountable and furthering cleanup efforts.
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December 18, 2024
Emissions Cheating Biz Gets Truck Tuning Co. CEO 10 Months
The owner of a prominent Louisiana automotive tuning company will serve 10 months of a three-year probation term on house arrest in addition to paying a $1.55 million criminal fine after pleading guilty to selling illegal software that bypassed diesel trucks' emissions controls, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday.
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December 18, 2024
Monsanto Protests DNA Damage Argument In PCB Closings
An attorney in a toxic tort against Monsanto drew a sustained objection from the company's defense during closings Wednesday as he attempted to argue that some of the young girls allegedly exposed to PCBs "will give birth to children with altered DNA," as counsel sparred over whether the plaintiffs suffered "generational harm."
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December 18, 2024
States, Green Groups Drop Suits Over USPS Vehicle Plan
A coalition of states and cities and several environmental groups moved to dismiss their lawsuits challenging the U.S. Postal Service's multibillion-dollar plan to acquire its next-generation delivery vehicles.
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December 18, 2024
EPA Greenlights California's Race To 100% ZEVs By 2035
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday authorized California's plan to require that all new light cars and trucks sold in the state be zero-emission vehicles by 2035, a move that was instantly slammed by the fossil fuel industry.
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December 18, 2024
Texas Says Border Wall Panel Sales May Violate Injunction
Missouri and Texas asked a federal judge to probe whether the Biden administration is violating an order to use $1.4 billion of congressional funds to build the southern border wall, pointing to media reports that wall materials are being sold off.
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December 18, 2024
Energy Co. Orsted Sells 50% Solar Farm Stake In $572M Deal
Danish multinational energy company Orsted, advised by Sidley Austin LLP, on Wednesday announced plans to sell a 50% equity stake in three U.S. onshore projects to energy transition-focused investor Energy Capital Partners in a $572 million deal.
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December 18, 2024
Connecticut AG Gets Remand Of 'Forever Chemicals' Suit
A Connecticut federal judge has shipped one of the state's PFAS "forever chemicals" lawsuits back to state court, siding with the state attorney general's argument that the case targeted pollution from consumer products and civilian industrial sources that were not "inextricably commingled" with chemicals produced to military specifications.
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December 18, 2024
The Biggest 1st Circ. Rulings Of 2024
The nation's smallest federal circuit court in 2024 issued an opinion tackling the government of Mexico's efforts to hold U.S. firearms makers responsible for the flow of illegal arms across the southern border, determining the claims are not barred by a litigation shield, among other high-profile decisions.
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December 18, 2024
Mont. High Court Cements Right To 'Stable Climate System'
The Montana Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that the state's constitution guarantees the right to "a stable climate system" and affirmed a lower court's decision to strike down state law provisions that barred the consideration of greenhouse gas emissions in permitting decisions.
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December 17, 2024
Del. Justices Won't Revive Investors' $2.4B EV SPAC Deal Suit
The Delaware Supreme Court has declined to reinstate a proposed class action in the state's Chancery Court that accused a blank-check company of withholding key information from investors ahead of its $2.4 billion go-public deal with electric-vehicle maker Canoo Holdings Ltd.
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December 17, 2024
Red States Can Back Feds In Dakota Access Pipeline Row
A North Dakota federal judge said Tuesday that 13 Republican-led states can back the federal government in litigation brought by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe seeking to halt operations of the Dakota Access Pipeline.
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December 17, 2024
Insurer Can't Duck Coverage Of Fire Suit, Texas Jury Finds
A Texas federal jury rejected an insurer's bid to escape covering a trucking company in an underlying suit over a fire at a saltwater disposal facility that killed one of the company's employees, finding that the incident was not caused by the excluded act of hydrofracking.
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December 17, 2024
Senate GOP Enviro Leader Questions EPA On Grant Funding
The leading Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee said Tuesday she's worried about the "potential for misuse" of the $30 billion in funding being doled out by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
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December 17, 2024
Monsanto Beats Appeal In NJ Pollution Suit Defense Bid
A New Jersey state court judge correctly dismissed a company's complaint seeking Bayer AG's Monsanto's help covering environmental enforcement claims for polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCB, contamination after the case's original judge retired, the state appeals court ruled Tuesday.
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December 17, 2024
Renewable Energy Investor Asks Court To OK €42M Award
A Luxembourg-based renewable energy investment firm on Tuesday urged a District of Columbia federal judge to confirm a €41.8 million ($43.9 million) arbitration award over Spain's abandoned energy economic incentives after the D.C. Circuit recently said such awards can be enforced.
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December 17, 2024
Revised LNG Export Study Flags Gas Price And Climate Worries
The Biden administration on Tuesday said that unconstrained U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas would increase both domestic energy prices and cumulative greenhouse gas emissions, and retained a pause on export project reviews that President-elect Donald Trump is expected to lift upon taking office.
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December 17, 2024
5th Circ. Tosses EPA Rule After Agency Loses Docs
The Fifth Circuit on Tuesday granted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's unusual request that the court vacate a challenged 2016 rule that partially disapproved regional haze plans created by Texas and Oklahoma and imposed a federal plan.
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December 17, 2024
3M Fights Michigan's Mootness Claims In PFAS Rule Suit
Michigan is wrong to allege that 3M's challenge to rules on PFAS in tap water is moot, the company has told the state Supreme Court, claiming it will still be affected by the challenged regulations despite the state's arguments that new regulations supersede them.
Expert Analysis
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Navigating Antitrust Considerations In ESG Collaborations
The intersection of ESG goals and antitrust laws presents a complex challenge for businesses and their counsel — but by creating clear frameworks for collaboration, adhering to established guidelines and carefully considering the competitive implications of their actions, companies can work toward sustainability while mitigating legal risks, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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How To Grow Marketing, Biz Dev Teams In A Tight Market
Faced with fierce competition and rising operating costs, firms are feeling the pressure to build a well-oiled marketing and business development team that supports strategic priorities, but they’ll need to be flexible and creative given a tight talent market, says Ben Curle at Ambition.
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Series
Rock Climbing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Rock climbing requires problem-solving, focus, risk management and resilience, skills that are also invaluable assets in my role as a finance lawyer, says Mei Zhang at Haynes and Boone.
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What Chevron's End Means For How Congress Does Business
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision, overturning the Chevron doctrine, will have a far-reaching impact across the entire public policy life cycle, beginning with how Congress writes its laws and extending through agency implantation and judicial review, say attorneys at K&L Gates.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Dance The Legal Standard Two-Step
From rookie brief writers to Chief Justice John Roberts, lawyers should master the legal standard two-step — framing the governing standard at the outset, and clarifying why they meet that standard — which has benefits for both the drafter and reader, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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What Cos. Should Know About New Global Plastics Regs
As the global regulatory landscape for plastics and recycling changes rapidly — with new policies coming into effect in California, at the federal level, in the European Union and at the United Nations — businesses that operate across jurisdictions must stay informed to remain compliant, mitigate legal risk and achieve stewardship goals, say attorneys at O'Melveny.
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The Rise Of State And Local Environmental Leadership
While Congress is deadlocked, and a U.S. Supreme Court with a hostility toward the administrative state aggressively dismantles federal environmental oversight, state and local governments are stepping up with policies to shape a more sustainable future for all species, says Jonathan Rosenbloom at Albany Law School.
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5 Tips For Solar Cos. Navigating Big Shifts In US Trade Policy
Renewable energy developers can best mitigate new compliance risks from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s increased tariffs on imported solar cells, and simultaneously capitalize on Treasury Department incentives for domestic solar manufacturers, by following five best practices in the changing solar trade landscape, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Series
Being A Luthier Makes Me A Better Lawyer
When I’m not working as an appellate lawyer, I spend my spare time building guitars — a craft known as luthiery — which has helped to enhance the discipline, patience and resilience needed to write better briefs, says Rob Carty at Nichols Brar.
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Half-Truths Vs. Omissions: Slicing Justices' Macquarie Cake
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Macquarie v. Moab provides a road map for determining whether corporate reports that omit information should be considered misleading — and the court baked it into a dessert analogy that is key to understanding the guidelines, say Daniel Levy and Pavithra Kumar at Advanced Analytical Consulting Group.
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Lead Like 'Ted Lasso' By Embracing Cognitive Diversity
The Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” aptly illustrates how embracing cognitive diversity can be a winning strategy for teams, providing a useful lesson for law firms, which can benefit significantly from fresh, diverse perspectives and collaborative problem-solving, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.
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3 Areas Of Enforcement Risk Facing The EV Industry
Companies in the EV manufacturing ecosystem are experiencing a boom in business, but with this boom comes increased regulatory and enforcement risks, from the corruption issues that have historically pervaded the extractive sector to newer risks posed by artificial intelligence, say attorneys at MoFo.
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How Cos. Should Handle Research Org.'s Carcinogen Evals
In light of the International Agency of Research for Cancer's list of substances slated for review over the next five years, manufacturers of chemicals, pharmaceuticals and consumer products should monitor for potentially unbalanced determinations, which could stimulate litigation regarding potential exposure from products, say attorneys at Nelson Mullins.
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Keeping Up With Carbon Capture Policy In The US And EU
Recent regulatory moves from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the European Commission in the carbon capture, sequestration and storage space are likely to further encourage the owners and operators of fossil fuel-fired power plants to make decisions on shutdowns or reconfiguration to meet the expanding requirements, say Inosi Nyatta and Silvia Brünjes at Sullivan & Cromwell.
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New State Climate Liability Laws: What Companies Must Know
New legislation in Vermont and New York creating liability and compliance obligations for businesses deemed responsible for climate change — as well as similar bills proposed in California, Massachusetts and Maryland — have far-reaching implications for companies, so it is vital to remain vigilant as these initiatives progress, say Gregory Berlin and Jeffrey Dintzer at Alston & Bird.