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Environmental
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September 08, 2025
Calif. Says Texas Doesn't Belong In Emissions Waiver Fight
The state of California told a federal judge that Texas has no business in a suit challenging the revocation of Clean Air Act waivers that allowed the state to set its own emissions standards, saying the Lone Star State wishes to inject "collateral issues" into the suit.
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September 08, 2025
2 Firms Steer $540M IPO For Oilfield Water Infrastructure Co.
Houston, Texas-based oilfield water management company WaterBridge Infrastructure said Monday that it is seeking to raise up to $540 million in an initial public offering guided by Latham & Watkins LLP and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP.
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September 08, 2025
Groups' Exxon Plastic Recycling Nuisance Claims Can Proceed
A California federal judge ruled Friday that environmental groups can move forward with their public-nuisance claims accusing Exxon Mobil Corp. of knowingly fueling the state's plastic pollution crisis, rejecting the energy company's contention that the suit is merely a disguised product liability case.
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September 08, 2025
Firefighters Say PFAS Economic And Health Harms Are Real
Connecticut firefighters and unions hit back Friday at Honeywell, DuPont and other safety gear manufacturers trying to exit their federal proposed class action that alleges the companies sold gear with hazardous forever chemicals, saying they had alleged enough economic and health risks for their suit to proceed.
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September 08, 2025
GAO Flags Barriers In Tribal Energy Loan Program
The U.S. Government Accountability Office said a federal agency program designed to support Indigenous nations in developing energy projects through loans is limiting its accessibility and effectiveness through high, unpredictable costs; unclear guidance; and a lack of tribal expertise.
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September 08, 2025
Idaho Developer Looks To Defend $2B Gold Mine Project
The developer of a proposed $2 billion Idaho gold mine wants to intervene in a tribe's challenge that looks to block the project, saying it has already invested more than $400 million in the endeavor and has an interest in developing and moving the effort forward without delay.
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September 08, 2025
Lawmakers Push To Finalize Tribal Water Rights Settlements
A bipartisan group of lawmakers is urging congressional leaders to make a move on several tribal water rights settlement bills that are pending before the U.S. Senate, saying that doing so will prevent costly litigation and ensure tribes and others have access to water.
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September 08, 2025
Steptoe & Johnson Adds Olympus Energy Atty In Pittsburgh
Steptoe & Johnson PLLC has grown its Pittsburgh office with the addition of a senior counsel from oil and natural gas company Olympus Energy LLC.
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September 05, 2025
8th Circ. Vacates Biden-Era, Updated EV Fuel Economy Rules
The Eighth Circuit Friday vacated the U.S. Department of Energy's updated method of calculating the fuel economy equivalent estimates for electric vehicles, finding that the DOE didn't have the authority to enact the 2024 rule, nor did it comply with the Administrative Procedures Act.
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September 05, 2025
Trump Admin Says Enviro Groups Can't Block GHG Report
The Trump administration has told a Massachusetts federal judge that a lawsuit challenging its formation of a climate change science advisory panel is a misguided ploy to undermine the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's impending reconsideration of the harms of greenhouse gases.
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September 05, 2025
Sierra Club Looks To Secure Border Wall Settlement Funds
The Sierra Club and a nonprofit ally asked a California federal judge to order the Trump administration to preserve at least $50 million of border wall construction funds to pay for environmental projects required by a settlement struck with the Biden administration.
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September 05, 2025
Miner Must Show Why Chuckwalla Suit Belongs In Mich.
A Michigan federal judge has ordered a Michigan resident challenging the Chuckwalla National Monument's protected status to show why the lawsuit should remain in the Great Lakes State, suggesting that the case seems to fit better in California where the vast desert acreage is located.
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September 05, 2025
9th Circ. Affirms Irrigation Exemption For Calif. Water Project
The Ninth Circuit on Friday rejected fishing industry groups' demand that the federal government require a Clean Water Act permit for a California agricultural water runoff project that's been operating without one for decades.
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September 05, 2025
8th Circ. Won't Revisit Crop Damage Arbitration Fight
The Eighth Circuit has ruled that the existence of arbitration agreements for some farmland owners, who are suing over depressed crop yields in the aftermath of an Alliance Pipeline project, does not amount to grounds for the appeals court to review a decision reviving proceedings.
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September 05, 2025
How A 'Risky' Move Fueled Kobre & Kim's Win Over Phillips 66
In the trial over Propel Fuels' claims that Phillips 66 stole trade secrets during due diligence for an acquisition, Kobre & Kim switched up standard witness order and convinced a jury to award $605 million.
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September 05, 2025
DC Circ. Revives Emergency Defense Rule For Air Polluters
The D.C. Circuit on Friday restored air pollution-emitting facilities' right to defend themselves against alleged violations of the Clean Air Act by blaming emergency circumstances, finding that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's attempt to ban the practice was unlawful.
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September 05, 2025
Ørsted Investors Back $9.4B Rights Issue After US Order
Ørsted AS said Friday that its shareholders have thrown their weight behind a 60 billion Danish kroner ($9.4 billion) rights issue, amid a legal battle against an order from the Trump administration to stop work on an offshore wind farm.
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September 04, 2025
11th Circ. Says 'Alligator Alcatraz' Can Stay Open For Now
A split Eleventh Circuit Thursday paused a Florida federal judge's order that preliminarily ordered the federal government to begin winding down the immigration detention center dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz," saying the government likely didn't need to prepare an environmental impact report for the facility built on the Florida Everglades.
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September 04, 2025
Chevron, Exxon Kick Off High Court La. Pollution Case
Chevron and Exxon Mobil Corp. on Thursday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the Fifth Circuit's ruling that Louisiana state court, not federal court, is the proper venue for claims that their World War II-era oil production activities violated state law.
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September 04, 2025
Enbridge Asks High Court To Reverse Pipeline Remand Ruling
Enbridge Energy has pushed the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a Sixth Circuit decision saying the company missed a deadline to transfer to federal court a suit by Michigan's attorney general seeking to block a pipeline, arguing the attorney general failed to show the removal process was untimely.
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September 04, 2025
EPA Touts 'Ambitious' New Deregulatory Agenda
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday laid out its regulatory agenda for the coming months, and said it intends to revisit or roll back Biden-era initiatives in several areas, including water, climate change and chemical regulations.
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September 04, 2025
Wash. PFAS Contamination Suit Sent Back To State Court
A Washington federal judge has remanded to state court a refinery operator's suit alleging that firefighting foam containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, made and sold by The Chemours Co., Tyco Fire Products and others has contaminated the refinery.
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September 04, 2025
Atty Can't Duck TCPA Suit Over Camp Lejeune Calls
A North Carolina federal judge will not trim a proposed class action accusing a plaintiffs firm of making unsolicited calls to a number on the National Do Not Call Registry in an effort to secure a client in the Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune toxic drinking water case, saying it doesn't matter if the lead plaintiff "invited" later calls.
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September 04, 2025
Pollution Exclusion Bars Coverage For HOA Stormwater Suit
An insurer has no duty to defend or indemnify a homeowners association against claims that its stormwater drainage system caused flooding and damage to nearby properties, a Georgia federal court ruled, saying a pollution exclusion bars coverage.
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September 04, 2025
Feds Don't Have Immunity In NM Wildfire Row, Court Told
The U.S. Forest Service's failure to comply with a plan for the Santa Fe National Forest means it cannot avoid liability by invoking an "overarching discretionary enterprise" of prescribed burning that led to the destruction of nearly 43,000 acres, a New Mexico tribe, an electric cooperative and others argue.
Expert Analysis
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Litigation Inspiration: How To Respond After A Loss
Every litigator loses a case now and then, and the sting of that loss can become a medicine that strengthens or a poison that corrodes, depending on how the attorney responds, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.
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Tips For Cos. From California Climate Reporting FAQ
New guidance from the California Air Resources Board on how businesses must implement the state's sweeping climate reporting requirements should help companies assess their exposure, understand their disclosure obligations and begin documenting good-faith compliance efforts, says Thierry Montoya at Frost Brown.
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What Calif. Insurance Ruling Means For Smoke Damage Limits
As California continues to grapple with an increasing number of wildfire claims, a state court's recent Aliff v. California FAIR Plan decision serves as a clear directive to insurers that policy language that narrows the scope of fire coverage below the California Insurance Code's minimum standards is impermissible, say attorneys at Wood Smith.
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The Metamorphosis Of The Major Questions Doctrine
The so-called major questions doctrine arose as a counterweight to Chevron deference over the past few decades, but invocations of the doctrine have persisted in the year since Chevron was overturned, suggesting it still has a role to play in reining in agency overreach, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
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Series
Playing Mah-Jongg Makes Me A Better Mediator
Mah-jongg rewards patience, pattern recognition, adaptability and keen observation, all skills that are invaluable to my role as a mediator, and to all mediating parties, says Marina Corodemus.
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Calif. Air Waivers Fight Fuels Automakers', States' Uncertainty
The unprecedented attempt by Congress and the Trump administration to kill the Clean Air Act waivers supporting California's vehicle emissions standards will eventually end up in the U.S. Supreme Court — but meanwhile, vehicle manufacturers, and states following California's standards, are left in limbo, says John Watson at Spencer Fane.
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Series
Law School's Missed Lessons: Navigating Client Trauma
Law schools don't train students to handle repeated exposure to clients' traumatic experiences, but for litigators practicing in areas like civil rights and personal injury, success depends on the ability to view cases clinically and to recognize when you may need to seek help, says Katie Bennett at Robins Kaplan.
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Lawsuit, Exec Orders Should Boost Small Modular Reactors
A lawsuit in Texas federal court and a set of new executive orders from the White House may finally push the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to allow for accelerated deployment of small modular reactors — a technology that could change the country's energy future, says Aleksey Shtivelman at Shutts & Bowen.
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Opinion
Juries Are Key In Protecting The Rule Of Law
Absent from the recent discourse about U.S. rule of law is the crucial role of impartial jurors in protecting the equitable administration of justice, and attorneys and judges should take affirmative steps to reverse the yearslong decline of jury trials at this critical moment, says consultant Clint Townson.
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Opinion
4 Former Justices Would Likely Frown On Litigation Funding
As courts increasingly confront cases involving hidden litigation finance contracts, the jurisprudence of four former U.S. Supreme Court justices establishes a constitutional framework that risks erosion by undisclosed financial interests, says Roland Eisenhuth at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.
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Preparing For Trump Pushback Against State Climate Laws
An April executive order from President Donald Trump mandated a report from the U.S. attorney general on countering so-called state overreach in climate policy, and while that report has yet to appear, companies can expect that it will likely call for using litigation, legislation and funding to actively reshape energy policy, say attorneys at Bracewell.
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How Attys Can Use AI To Surface Narratives In E-Discovery
E-discovery has reached a turning point where document review is no longer just about procedural tasks like identifying relevance and redacting privilege — rather, generative artificial intelligence tools now allow attorneys to draw connections, extract meaning and tell a coherent story, says Rose Jones at Hilgers Graben.
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How To Strengthen A Case By Mastering Expert Witness Prep
A well-prepared expert witness can bolster a case's credibility with persuasive qualifications, compelling voir dire responses and concise testimony that can withstand cross-examination, says Allison Rocker at Baker McKenzie.
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Harmonized Int'l Framework May Boost Advanced Aircraft
International differences in the certification process for advanced air mobility aircraft make the current framework insufficient — but U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy's recent announcement of a standards harmonization effort may help promote these innovative aviation technologies, while maintaining safety, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Bills' Defeat Means Brighter Outlook For Texas Renewables
The failure of a trio of bills from the recently concluded Texas legislative session that would have imposed new burdens on wind, solar and battery storage projects bodes well for a state with rapidly growing energy needs, say attorneys at Troutman.