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Environmental

  • June 30, 2025

    High Court Won't Review Kentucky's Smog Plan Challenge

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review the Sixth Circuit's refusal to transfer Kentucky's challenge to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's disapproval of its ozone control plan to the D.C. Circuit, after ruling such cases belong in regional circuit courts. 

  • June 30, 2025

    Justices Seek SG's View In $1.2M Roundup Verdict

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday asked the U.S. solicitor general to weigh in on Monsanto's petition challenging a $1.2 million jury award given to a man who claimed that the company's Roundup weed killer caused his cancer.

  • June 30, 2025

    Justices Pass On Exxon Mobil $14M Clean Air Act Dispute

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review an en banc Fifth Circuit opinion that upheld $14.25 million in air pollution fines against Exxon Mobil Corp.

  • June 30, 2025

    Supreme Court Won't Take On CWA Suit Over Wash. Port Regs

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to wade into a dispute between a Washington state port and an environmental group over whether citizen suits seeking to enforce state permitting conditions that go beyond the Clean Water Act can proceed in federal court.

  • June 30, 2025

    Justices Take On Enbridge Pipeline Remand Fight

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to review a Sixth Circuit decision that found Enbridge Energy LP missed a statutory deadline to transfer to federal court a lawsuit from Michigan's attorney general seeking to shut down one of the company's pipelines.

  • June 27, 2025

    Hershey Says Wrapper PFAS Suit 'Built On A House Of Cards'

    The Hershey Co. on Friday urged a Pennsylvania federal court to dismiss a putative class action that alleges its packaging for its chocolate bars and candies contains dangerous levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, saying consumers' testing allegations failed to back a viable claim that its products contain the forever chemicals known as PFAS.

  • June 27, 2025

    Insurer Fights Cosmetic Co. Over Coverage For Pollution Row

    A Markel unit had no duty to defend a cosmetics company against prior water pollution claims simply because it agreed to defend a subsequent suit brought by the California attorney general, the insurer told a California federal court Friday.

  • June 27, 2025

    Hawaii Groups Look To Block Monument Fishing Permits

    Three conservation groups are looking to set aside an April decision by the Trump administration that gave the go-ahead for permit holders to commercially fish in the waters of a Pacific Coast national monument, telling a Hawaii federal court that destructive fishing has already started in the 400,000-square-mile site.

  • June 27, 2025

    Groups Sue To Protect Everglades From 'Alligator Alcatraz'

    Environmental groups sued Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Florida officials Friday in Miami federal court in a bid to halt the construction of a migrant detention center known as "Alligator Alcatraz" in the Everglades, alleging it wasn't properly vetted for how it will impact the protected wetlands.

  • June 27, 2025

    Texas Justices Give Uri MDL Plaintiffs Chance To Replead

    The Texas Supreme Court on Friday said that thousands of plaintiffs in a multidistrict litigation stemming from winter storm Uri in 2021 could replead their gross negligence claims against transmission and distribution utility providers, giving them a chance to revive their long-running dispute over the crippling winter storm.

  • June 27, 2025

    Philly District Inks DPA With Feds Over Asbestos In Schools

    The School District of Philadelphia has agreed to federal oversight of its asbestos remediation efforts in its facilities after a five-year investigation revealed that it had fallen behind in dealing with airborne toxins from classrooms, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania said Friday.

  • June 27, 2025

    Insurer Asks Court To Sort Out Paying Of $4.1M Settlement

    An insurer asked a California federal court to decide who should receive a $4.1 million settlement of a homeowner's fire claims, saying it could not determine who was entitled to the payment because of a number of lien notices filed as the settlement was finalized.

  • June 27, 2025

    3 DOL Policy Shifts On Benefits Attys' Radar

    Since President Donald Trump's administration took over in January, the U.S. Department of Labor has changed its tack on several issues related to employee benefits. Here, Law360 looks at three moves that caught lawyers' attention.

  • June 27, 2025

    NC Biz Court Bulletin: Last-Minute Settlements Head Off Trials

    Untouched by the summer slump, the North Carolina Business Court kicked off June with a sanctions order against a biogas company caught spurning court orders and a new complaint by a former NFL player accusing his longtime financial adviser of defrauding him for decades.

  • June 26, 2025

    Bayer Investors' $38M Settlement Over Monsanto Deal OK'd

    A California federal judge on Thursday preliminarily approved Bayer AG's $38 million settlement with investors who accused the German multinational of downplaying litigation risks related to the weedkiller Roundup when it acquired Monsanto in 2018, saying the deal appeared to be "fair, reasonable and adequate."

  • June 26, 2025

    Calif. FAIR Plan Fire Policy Is Unlawful, Court Rules

    Fire insurance offered by California's insurer of last resort does not meet the minimum coverage standards laid out in the state insurance code, a California state court ruled, finding the policy's definition of "direct physical loss" and its smoke damage provision to be unlawfully restrictive.

  • June 26, 2025

    EPA Illegally Ended Environmental Justice Grants, Groups Say

    Environmental groups, a Native American village and other local governments have alleged in a proposed class action in D.C. federal court that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency unlawfully stopped a $3 billion climate grant program created by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.

  • June 26, 2025

    Suit Blaming Big Oil For Heat Wave Death Moved To Fed Court

    Chevron removed to Seattle federal court a first-of-its kind wrongful death suit brought by the daughter of a woman who died during a 2021 heat wave alleging oil and gas giants — including BP PLC, ConocoPhillips and Shell PLC — knew for decades their fossil fuel products would one day "claim lives."

  • June 26, 2025

    Solar Co. Meyer Burger Can Tap $10M DIP To Fund Ch. 11 Sale

    Swiss solar panel maker Meyer Burger's U.S. unit secured a Delaware bankruptcy judge's interim approval Thursday for a $10 million debtor-in-possession loan as it looks to sell two manufacturing sites in Chapter 11.

  • June 26, 2025

    FERC Chair Aims To Stay Beyond His Term's End

    As his potential replacement awaits a U.S. Senate confirmation hearing, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Mark Christie said Thursday that he plans to oversee the agency's next monthly open meeting in July, but otherwise remained tight-lipped about his impending departure.

  • June 26, 2025

    Gordon Rees Adds Glazier Yee Toxic Tort Ace In LA, St. Louis

    Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP is expanding its litigation team, bringing in an environmental and toxic tort specialist from boutique firm Glazier Yee LLP as a partner in its St. Louis and Los Angeles offices.

  • June 26, 2025

    EPA Seeks To Appeal Flint Water Crisis Immunity Ruling

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has asked a Michigan federal court for permission to appeal an immunity ruling in the Flint water crisis litigation to the Sixth Circuit, saying a trip to the federal appellate court could bring the case to a more efficient resolution.

  • June 26, 2025

    Akerman Adds Steptoe Energy Transactional Atty In DC

    Akerman LLP has hired a former Steptoe LLP partner who works on the regulatory, corporate and transactional aspects of energy deals and with related project development matters, the firm announced Wednesday.

  • June 26, 2025

    Lime Revs Up IPO, Crypto's Prospects Rise, And More Rumors

    Uber Technologies Inc.-backed electric bike startup Lime is moving forward on a U.S. initial public offering, while more crypto ventures are seeking public listings and insurance giant BrightHouse inches closer to a sale.

  • June 25, 2025

    Texas Clinic Says Insurer Owes $2M For Hurricane Damage

    A hospital clinic accused its insurer in Texas federal court Wednesday of severely underpaying its hurricane claim following a "substandard, cursory inspection" ignoring "obvious" damages, saying it only offered to cover roughly $3,500 worth of damage to a ventilation unit while the other damage totaled nearly $2.3 million.

Expert Analysis

  • Key Questions When Mediating Environmental Disputes

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    As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency implements dramatic regulatory changes, companies seeking to use mediation to manage increased risks and uncertainties around environmental liabilities should keep certain essential considerations in mind to help reach successful outcomes, says Edward Cohen at Thompson Coburn.

  • 3 Change Management Tools To Boost Compliance Efforts

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    As companies grapple with rapidly changing regulations and expectations, leaders charged with implementing their organizations’ compliance programs should look to change management principles to make the process less costly and more effective, says Liisa Thomas at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Trump DOE's Plan On AI Offers Challenges, Opportunities

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    The Trump administration's push to make federal land available for development of artificial intelligence data centers follows a similar Biden administration proposal — but a new request for information from the U.S. Department of Energy envisions a rapid timeline that may prove challenging for both the DOE and industry stakeholders, say attorneys at HWG.

  • Understanding How Jurors Arrive At Punitive Damage Awards

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    Much of the rising trend of so-called thermonuclear verdicts can be tied to punitive damages amounts that astonish the imagination, so attorneys must understand the psychological underpinnings that drive jurors’ decision-making calculus on damages, says Clint Townson at Townson Litigation.

  • Legal Ethics Considerations For Law Firm Pro Bono Deals

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    If a law firm enters into a pro bono deal with the Trump administration in exchange for avoiding or removing an executive order, it has an ethical obligation to create a written settlement agreement with specific terms, which would mitigate some potential conflict of interest problems, says Andrew Altschul at Buchanan Angeli.

  • Avoiding Compliance Risks Under Calif. Recycling Label Law

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    CalRecycle's recently published final findings on California's S.B. 343 — determining which products and packaging materials are eligible to use the "chasing arrows" recyclability symbol — offer key guidance that businesses operating in the state must heed to avert the risk of penalties or litigation, says Christopher Smith at Greenspoon Marder.

  • Series

    Playing Football Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    While my football career ended over 15 years ago, the lessons the sport taught me about grit, accountability and resilience have stayed with me and will continue to help me succeed as an attorney, says Bert McBride at Trenam.

  • 10 Arbitrations And A 5th Circ. Ruling Flag Arb. Clause Risks

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    The ongoing arbitral saga of Sullivan v. Feldman, which has engendered proceedings before 10 different arbitrators in Texas and Louisiana along with last month's Fifth Circuit opinion, showcases both the risks and limitations of arbitration clauses in retainer agreements for resolving attorney-client disputes, says Christopher Blazejewski at Sherin and Lodgen.

  • How Trump Energy Order May Challenge State Climate Efforts

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    Even if the Trump administration's recent executive order targeting state and local environmental, climate and clean energy laws, regulations and programs doesn't result in successful legal challenges to state authority, the order could discourage state legislatures from taking further climate action, say attorneys at Foley Hoag.

  • EPA's Proposed GHG Reform Could Hinder Climate Regulation

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    The Trump administration will reconsider the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's landmark 2009 greenhouse gas endangerment finding, which could leave the U.S. federal government with no statutory authority whatsoever to regulate climate change or greenhouse gas emissions, says David Smith at Manatt.

  • Series

    Power To The Paralegals: The Value Of Unified State Licensing

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    Texas' proposal to become the latest state to license paraprofessional providers of limited legal services could help firms expand their reach and improve access to justice, but consumers, attorneys and allied legal professionals would benefit even more if similar programs across the country become more uniform, says Michael Houlberg at the University of Denver.

  • What Greenwashing Looks Like, And How To Navigate Claims

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    Recent cases show that consumers seeking to challenge sustainability claims as greenwashing face significant legal hurdles, and that companies can avoid liability by emphasizing context, says Felicia Boyd at Norton Rose.

  • 11 Tips For Contractors Dealing With DOD Staff Reductions

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    Defense contractors should prepare for a wide range of disruptions related to procurement and contract administration that are likely amid federal workforce reductions, say attorneys at Covington.

  • 4 Takeaways From La. Coastal Wetland Damage Verdict

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    A recent $745 million verdict in a case filed by a Louisiana parish against Chevron for violating a Louisiana environmental law illustrates that climate-related liabilities pose increasing risk and litigation risk may not follow a red state versus blue state divide, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • 10 Soft Skills Every GC Should Master

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    As businesses face shifting regulatory and technological uncertainty, general counsel will need to strengthen certain soft skills to succeed, from admitting when they make a mistake to maintaining a healthy dose of dispassion, says Douglas Brown at Manatt.

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