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Environmental

  • May 06, 2025

    Mistrial Declared On Punitive Damages In Bard Cancer Case

    A Georgia state judge declared a mistrial as to punitive damages Tuesday in a suit alleging C.R. Bard's ethylene oxide emissions caused a man's cancer, leaving a $20 million compensatory damages verdict in place but inviting a round of briefing on the unusual situation.

  • May 06, 2025

    Marshall Fire Suit Must Stay In Colo., Plaintiffs' Attys Say

    Local governments and individuals accusing Xcel Energy Inc. in a lawsuit of failing to mitigate risks leading up to the devastating 2021 Marshall Fire in Colorado said the company must stand trial in the state, rebuffing the notion that the state's court had no jurisdiction.

  • May 06, 2025

    EPA Urges DC Circ. To Block Climate Change NGO Grants

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency asked the D.C. Circuit to allow it to restart its effort to reclaim billions of dollars in congressionally approved funding for nonprofits the Biden administration picked to carry out climate change projects.

  • May 06, 2025

    Firms Beat Malpractice Suit Over Chicken Plant Pollution

    Delaware's Supreme Court on Tuesday affirmed a trial court's dismissal of a malpractice suit against Brockstedt Mandalas Federico LLC and Schochor Staton Goldberg & Cardea PA for their alleged mishandling of claims associated with a child's "catastrophic injuries" purportedly caused by contamination from a chicken plant.

  • May 06, 2025

    Nuclear Plant Renewal Rules Are Sound, Backers Tell DC Circ.

    New U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission license renewal rules adequately account for environmental risks from accidents, aging equipment and climate change, industry players told the D.C. Circuit, urging it to reject a challenge brought by anti-nuclear power groups.

  • May 05, 2025

    DC Circ. Judge Doubts Fla. Plan To Permit Clean Water

    At least one D.C. Circuit judge came to the table Monday morning extremely skeptical about the government's argument to restore the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's approval of Florida's plan to assume control of a Clean Water Act permitting program, and she wasn't pulling any punches.

  • May 05, 2025

    Judge Poised To Decide If Mich. Will Face Dam Collapse Trial

    A state judge will decide next week whether thousands of flood victims can proceed to trial on their claims that the state of Michigan is to blame for a hydroelectric dam collapse that caused widespread flooding.

  • May 05, 2025

    5th Circ. Says Biden Climate Officials' Info Not Protected

    The Fifth Circuit on Monday ordered the U.S. Department of State to give the names of Biden administration officials who helped set the nation's greenhouse gas emissions targets to a conservative Texas-based legal group that's seeking climate change policy information.

  • May 05, 2025

    California Sues Feds Over Koi Nation Land Trust Approval

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom is asking a federal court to vacate a Department of the Interior decision to take 70 acres into trust for the construction of a proposed hotel and casino by the Koi Nation, arguing that without reversal, the state may forfeit any regulatory control over gaming on the site.

  • May 05, 2025

    Calif. Chamber Gets Acrylamide Cancer Warnings Deleted

    A California federal judge has sided with the state's Chamber of Commerce in a suit challenging Proposition 65's requirement that companies warn buyers about dietary acrylamide in their products, finding that it violates the First Amendment's protections against compelled speech.

  • May 05, 2025

    Sunoco Expands Into Canada With $9.1B Parkland Acquisition

    Sunoco LP on Monday said it has agreed to buy Canadian gas station and refinery operator Parkland Corp. in a cash and equity deal worth approximately $9.1 billion, including assumed debt, a deal that greatly expands Sunoco's North American fuel distribution business.

  • May 05, 2025

    Feds Say Splitting Clean Air Trial Would Harm Public

    Splitting a potential trial over a Detroit-area steel input manufacturer's alleged Clean Air Act violations into two phases would only cause unnecessary delays, the U.S. government has told a Michigan federal judge.

  • May 05, 2025

    States Sue Trump Over Halt On Wind Energy Projects

    A coalition of states led by New York on Monday challenged President Donald Trump's executive order indefinitely freezing the federal review and permitting of wind energy projects, saying the move has created "an existential threat to the wind industry." 

  • May 05, 2025

    Enviro Groups Push Back On Bid To Toss CSX Rebuild Suit

    Environmental groups American Whitewater and American Rivers are fighting bids by U.S. government agencies and CSX Transportation Inc. to throw out their claims that the agencies wrongly permitted CSX to rebuild chunks of its railroad destroyed by Hurricane Helene, saying the complaint is sufficient to allege the agencies acted arbitrarily and capriciously.

  • May 05, 2025

    Supreme Court Won't Review Mass. Wind Farm Permits

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review the federal government's approval of a large offshore wind energy project in the waters off the Massachusetts coast, rejecting allegations that the go-ahead ignored the risks the project poses to the commercial fishing industry.

  • May 02, 2025

    DOJ's Climate Change Suits Test Feds' Powers In State Affairs

    The Trump administration's new lawsuits challenging state-level efforts to combat climate change are an unprecedented approach, several environmental attorneys say, and will test the judiciary's view of federal interests in state matters.

  • May 02, 2025

    9th Circ. Says USFS Must Reassess Wash. Forest Fire Plan

    A Ninth Circuit panel partly sided with a conservation group Friday in a challenge of a federal forest restoration project, finding the U.S. Forest Service should've considered the potential impacts of a nearby project that took shape after a 2021 wildfire before approving the proposal.

  • May 02, 2025

    DC Circ. To Decide If 14 Miles Of Trains Is Too Many

    The D.C. Circuit is set to decide whether federal regulators used bad data to approve a $31 billion merger between Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern that will see 14 miles of trains running through a set of Chicagoland communities each day.

  • May 02, 2025

    Feds Expand Hunting, Fishing Access In 16 Wildlife Refuges

    The federal government is proposing to expand hunting and fishing access on more than 87,000 acres within the 11 states in national wildlife and fish hatchery systems, saying on Friday the move would more than triple the number of opportunities for outdoor recreation.

  • May 02, 2025

    Plaintiffs Seek Redo Over Sterilization Co.'s Trial Tactics

    Four women who claimed a Colorado sterilization company caused their cancers asked a state court to order a new trial, arguing the business won a favorable verdict with prejudicial evidence about law firm ads and by suggesting the women are not "real victims but pawns in a scheme orchestrated by their lawyers."

  • May 02, 2025

    NY Officials Say Feds' Memo In Filing Mishap Is Fair Game

    New York officials told a federal judge on Friday that a mistakenly filed memo from the federal government detailing its weak rationale for trying to cancel Manhattan's congestion pricing program is fair game and cannot be shielded after media outlets widely reported on it.

  • May 02, 2025

    Texas-Led AGs Defend BlackRock Coal Investments Suit

    A coalition of Republican states led by Texas are arguing that BlackRock Inc.'s public commitments to reducing its carbon footprint are evidence that it and two other leading asset managers teamed up to suppress the production of coal in the United States, asking a federal judge not to dismiss their case against the firms.

  • May 02, 2025

    Trump Proposes Billions In Cuts To EPA State Grant Programs

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would lose more than half of its funding compared with 2025 under the 2026 budget request released Friday by the Trump administration, with proposed cuts to drinking water infrastructure grants for states amounting to $2.4 billion. 

  • May 02, 2025

    Texas City Backs Exxon In Recycling Defamation Suit

    The city of Beaumont, Texas, sided with Exxon in its defamation lawsuit against California's attorney general and a coalition of conservation groups, telling a court the company's advanced recycling program provided needed innovation for coastal communities.

  • May 02, 2025

    NJ Panel Affirms $2.6M Coverage Payout In Cleanup Case

    A New Jersey appeals court on Friday upheld a lower court's decision finding that under Massachusetts law an insurer owed a BASF entity only $2.6 million in coverage for underlying environmental remediation costs after the lower court found a prior, larger coverage calculation it had adopted was "palpably incorrect."

Expert Analysis

  • A Look At Order Ending Federal Contractor Affirmative Action

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    To comply with President Donald Trump's executive order revoking affirmative action requirements in the next 90 days, federal contractors should focus on identification of protected groups, responsibilities of "diversity officer" positions and annual compliance reviews, says Jeremy Burkhart at Holland & Knight.

  • Opinion

    Courts Should Nix Conferencing Rule In 1 Discovery Scenario

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    Parties are generally required to meet and confer to resolve a discovery dispute before bringing a related motion, but courts should dispense with this conferencing requirement when a party fails to specify a time by which it will complete its production, says Tristan Ellis at Shanies Law.

  • 4 Keys To Litigating In An Active Regulatory Environment

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    For companies facing litigation influenced by government regulatory action — a recent trend that a politically charged atmosphere will exacerbate — there are a few principles that can help to align litigation strategy with broader public positioning in the regulatory and oversight context, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

  • Series

    Documentary Filmmaking Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Becoming a documentary filmmaker has allowed me to merge my legal expertise with my passion for storytelling, and has helped me to hone negotiation, critical thinking and problem-solving skills that are important to both endeavors, says Robert Darwell at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Litigation Funding Disclosure Debate: Strategy Considerations

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    In the ongoing debate over whether courts should require disclosure of litigation funding, funders and plaintiffs tend to argue against such mandates, but voluntarily disclosing limited details about a funding arrangement can actually confer certain benefits to plaintiffs in some scenarios, say Andrew Stulce and Marc Cavan at Longford Capital.

  • Gas Contract Fight Holds Lessons On Force Majeure Clauses

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    Ongoing litigation over gas deliveries during Winter Storm Uri underscores the need for precision and foresight when negotiating force majeure clauses in contracts — particularly in the energy sector, where climate-related disruptions and market volatility are inevitable, but often unpredictable, say attorneys at Spencer Fane.

  • Series

    Adventure Photography Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Photographing nature everywhere from Siberia to Cuba and Iceland to Rwanda provides me with a constant reminder to refresh, refocus and rethink the legal issues that my clients face, says Richard Birmingham at Davis Wright.

  • What Vinyl Acetate's Prop 65 Listing Means For Cos.

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    California's recent move to add vinyl acetate to the Proposition 65 list of carcinogens, with enforcement starting later this year, will have sweeping compliance and risk implications for businesses in the retail, food and beverage, paint, adhesive, industrial manufacturing, and personal care product industries, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Opinion

    Commercial Tree Thinning Should Be Part of Wildfire Control

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    The devastating wildfires currently afflicting California make it clear that the U.S. Forest Service should step up its use of methods including commercial tree removal to lower fire risk — but litigation that drags on for years stymies many of these efforts and endangers the public, says Jeffrey Beelaert at Givens Pursley.

  • 5 Ways To Create Effective Mock Assignments For Associates

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    In order to effectively develop associates’ critical thinking skills, firms should design mock assignments that contain a few key ingredients, from messy fact patterns to actionable feedback, says Abdi Shayesteh at AltaClaro.

  • More Environmental Claims, More Greenwashing Challenges

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    As companies prepare for the 2025 greenwashing landscape, they should take heed of a D.C. appellate decision that shows that environmental claims are increasingly subject to attack and provides plaintiffs with a playbook for challenging corporate claims of sustainability, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Assessing Gary Gensler's Legacy At The SEC

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    Gary Gensler's tenure as U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chair is defined by a record of commonsense regulation in some areas and social activism in others, and by increasing judicial skepticism about the SEC's authority to fulfill its regulatory, enforcement, administrative law and adjudicatory functions, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • Opinion

    Legal Personhood Can Give Natural Entities Their Day In Court

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    Granting legal personhood to natural entities like the River Thames, or vulnerable species like the Pacific bearded seal and Arctic ringed seal, could protect them from ecological threats and the vagaries of politics, and help us transform our relationship with nature, says Sachin Nandha at the International Centre for Sustainability.

  • Artfully Conceding Liability Can Offer Defendants 3 Benefits

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    In the rare case that a company makes the strategic decision to admit liability, it’s important to do so clearly and consistently in order to benefit from the various forms of armor that come from an honest acknowledgment, says Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies.

  • Mentorship Resolutions For The New Year

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    Attorneys tend to focus on personal achievements or career milestones when they set yearly goals, but one important area often gets overlooked in this process — mentoring relationships, which are some of the most effective tools for professional growth, say Kelly Galligan at Rutan & Tucker and Andra Greene at Phillips ADR.

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