Environmental

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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."

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • November 12, 2024

    Kentucky Plunges Into 2nd Challenge To Waters Of US Rule

    Kentucky has refiled its lawsuit challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's rule defining the scope of the federal government's jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act, after the Sixth Circuit found that a federal district judge improperly dismissed the case.

Expert Analysis

  • Nuclear Waste Storage Questions Justices May Soon Address

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    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.

  • Series

    After Chevron: Conservation Rule Already Faces Challenges

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    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.

  • Opinion

    Big Oil Climate Ruling Sets Dangerous Liability Precedent

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    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.

  • Opinion

    3rd. Circ. Got It Right On Cancer Warning Claims Preemption

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    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.

  • How Methods Are Evolving In Textualist Interpretations

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    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.

  • 5 Ways To Confront Courtroom Technology Challenges

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    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.

  • ESA Ruling May Jeopardize Gulf Of Mexico Drilling Operations

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    A Maryland federal court's recent decision in Sierra Club v. National Marine Fisheries Service, vacating key Endangered Species Act analyses of oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico, may create a gap in guidance that could expose operators to enforcement risk and even criminal liability, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • Why Attorneys Should Consider Community Leadership Roles

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    Volunteering and nonprofit board service are complementary to, but distinct from, traditional pro bono work, and taking on these community leadership roles can produce dividends for lawyers, their firms and the nonprofit causes they support, says Katie Beacham at Kilpatrick.

  • Firms Must Offer A Trifecta Of Services In Post-Chevron World

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    After the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision overturning Chevron deference, law firms will need to integrate litigation, lobbying and communications functions to keep up with the ramifications of the ruling and provide adequate counsel quickly, says Neil Hare at Dentons.

  • 5 Tips To Succeed In A Master Of Laws Program And Beyond

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    As lawyers and recent law school graduates begin their Master of Laws coursework across the country, they should keep a few pointers in mind to get the most out of their programs and kick-start successful careers in their practice areas, says Kelley Miller at Reed Smith.

  • Opinion

    Portland's Gross Receipts Tax Oversteps City's Authority

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    Recent measures by Portland, Oregon, that expand the voter-approved scope of the Clean Energy Surcharge on certain retail sales eviscerate the common meaning of the word "retail" and exceed the city's chartered authority to levy tax, say Nikki Dobay at Greenberg Traurig and Jeff Newgard at Peak Policy.

  • Series

    After Chevron: SEC Climate And ESG Rules Likely Doomed

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    Under the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Loper Bright, without agency deference, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate disclosure and environmental, social and governance rules would likely be found lacking in statutory support and vacated by the courts, says Justin Chretien at Carlton Fields.

  • When Trauma Colors Testimony: How To Help Witnesses

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    As stress-related mental health issues continue to rise, trial attorneys must become familiar with a few key trauma-informed strategies to help witnesses get back on track — leaning in to the counselor aspect of their vocations, say Ava Hernández and Steve Wood at Courtroom Sciences.

  • Series

    Being An Opera Singer Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    My journey from the stage to the courtroom has shown that the skills I honed as an opera singer – punctuality, memorization, creativity and more – have all played a vital role in my success as an attorney, says Gerard D'Emilio at GableGotwals.

  • Navigating The Uncertain Landscape Of Solar Tariffs

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    Solar cell and module manufacturers, exporters and importers must navigate an uncertain compliance landscape, given ongoing challenges to U.S. Department of Commerce antidumping and countervailing duty determinations, which have been mounted both by U.S. and non-U.S. manufacturers, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

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