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Environmental
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April 17, 2025
NY Judge Scrubs Groups' Anti-Congestion-Pricing Claims
A Manhattan federal judge on Thursday rejected claims from local residents and community groups alleging New York's revised congestion pricing tolls wrongfully discriminated against out-of-state commuters and unfairly benefited public transit riders instead of roadway users.
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April 17, 2025
Bard Plant's Emission Controls Weren't Up To Snuff, Jury Told
A Georgia state jury heard Thursday that a C.R. Bard medical equipment sterilization plant carelessly emitted ethylene oxide by going years without pollution controls, and later failing to diligently use and maintain the controls it did eventually install.
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April 17, 2025
9th Circ. Signals Support For Tribes' Cultural Loss Claims
A Ninth Circuit panel was skeptical Thursday that a Teck Resources unit could dodge the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation's claims for tribal service losses stemming from a smelter's Columbia River pollution, with one judge saying Teck's argument was "splitting hairs."
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April 17, 2025
Army Corps Says Miss. Dolphin Harm Suit Rightfully Tossed
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has urged the Fifth Circuit to affirm its decision to divert trillions of gallons of polluted floodwater into the Mississippi Sound, which Mississippi local governments and industry groups allege unlawfully harms bottlenose dolphins.
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April 17, 2025
Liberty Mutual Says Other Insurer Owes $500K For Crane Row
A Liberty Mutual unit said it is owed over $500,000 for defending a contractor in underlying litigation over a crane incident, telling a New York federal court that the contractor qualifies as an additional insured under a subcontractor's commercial general liability policy.
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April 17, 2025
DC Circ. Refreezes EPA Climate Grant Funds
The D.C. Circuit has paused a federal court's order directing Citibank to start disbursing funds to nonprofits undertaking climate change projects that were appropriated by Congress to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency during the Biden administration.
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April 17, 2025
Program To Speed Up Climate Change Patent Exams Axed
Federal patent officials have officially pulled the plug on a program that sped up examination of patent applications for inventions that are intended to mitigate climate change, after suspending it earlier this year.
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April 17, 2025
Insurance Regulators Urged To Address Climate Change Risks
Insurance regulators must strengthen their understanding of the threats posed by climate change and better consider how those risks will shape the stability of the sector, a group of international regulators said in a report.
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April 16, 2025
Bard Sickened Ga. Man With Medical Gas Pollution, Jury Told
A C.R. Bard medical equipment sterilization plant secretly "poisoned" a resident of a Georgia town by emitting ethylene oxide for 50 years, a jury heard in opening statements Tuesday, while Bard told the jury it "overwhelmingly" demonstrated reasonable care with the powerful gas.
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April 16, 2025
Pa. Poultry Farm's Slaughter Methods Deemed Trade Secrets
The Pennsylvania Superior Court has ruled that an animal rights group cannot force a Lebanon County poultry farm to disclose its chicken slaughtering practices, with the court ruling that the materials sought were confidential trade secrets.
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April 16, 2025
Judge Pauses Md. Depositions In Bridge Collapse Suit
A federal judge has paused an order forcing witnesses associated with Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine, which owned the cargo ship that struck Francis Scott Key Bridge, to be deposed in Maryland, finding it unclear whether they're employees who can't be forced to come to the United States and must be subpoenaed.
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April 16, 2025
Interior Dept. Halts Work On East Coast Offshore Wind Farm
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said Wednesday that he has directed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to immediately freeze all construction activities on the Empire Wind offshore wind energy project south of New York's Long Island.Â
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April 16, 2025
Texas Energy Bills Are No Panacea For Power Projects
Energy bills advancing through the Texas Legislature aim to get more electricity on the grid to satisfy escalating demand, but the possibility of new restrictions on renewable energy development has attorneys questioning whether companies will actually build what's needed.
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April 16, 2025
Texas Oil Co., Exec Admit Negligence In Toxic Gas Deaths
A Texas oilfield company executive has been sentenced to five months in prison, while his company was put on two years of probation and ordered to pay $1 million in restitution after pleading guilty in a case stemming from the deaths of an employee and his wife from exposure to toxic hydrogen sulfide gas in 2019.
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April 16, 2025
Feds Float Reducing Endangered Species Habitat Protections
The Trump administration on Wednesday said it plans to eliminate a long-standing regulatory provision that prohibits the destruction of endangered species habitat by project developers.
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April 16, 2025
IBM Sues Insurers Over $900M In Environmental Expenses
IBM has taken several of its excess commercial general liability insurers to New York federal court, arguing that following IBM's coverage settlements with underlying insurers, they are now on the hook for over $900 million in environmental remediation expenses incurred under policies issued between 1961 and 1970.
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April 16, 2025
Interior Transfers 110,000 Acres To Army For Border Security
The U.S. Department of the Interior is transferring 110,000 acres of federal land along the southern border to the U.S. Army to support Border Patrol as part of a sweeping effort by the Trump administration to crack down on illegal immigration.
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April 16, 2025
Texas Oil Cos. Seek Pass-Through Pollution Claims Coverage
Oil and gas companies told a Texas federal court on Wednesday that their insurer must pay to defend them against pass-through claims in connection with underlying pollution lawsuits thanks to a purchase and sale agreement they entered into with another company.
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April 16, 2025
Union Denied More Time In Feds' Bid To Bless CBA Rebuke
A Kentucky federal judge has refused to delay an approaching hearing on the U.S. Department of the Treasury's bid to nullify its workers' union contracts, despite a union's assertion that it's been given little time to prepare for a consequential case and that it has yet to be served.
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April 16, 2025
Groups Urge Congress To Probe DC's Use Of Private Attys
The American Tort Reform Association and two other groups called on Congress on Wednesday to investigate District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb for the office's use of outside counsel for litigation, which they say has issued millions in legal contracts with little transparency or accountability.
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April 16, 2025
Mexico's Vista Buys Stake In Argentine Oil Project For $1.5B
Mexico-based oil and gas company Vista Energy said Wednesday it has acquired a 50% stake in La Amarga Chica, a large shale oil project in the Neuquina Basin of Argentina's vast Vaca Muerta shale formation, for about $1.5 billion.
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April 16, 2025
Judge Restores EPA Grant Funds For Climate Change Groups
A D.C. federal judge has ordered Citibank NA to start disbursing Biden-era federal grant funding to nonprofits working on climate change projects, and blocked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's effort to terminate the grants.
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April 16, 2025
Global Clean Energy Files Ch. 11 With Over $2B In Debt
Renewable fuels company Global Clean Energy Holdings Inc. filed for Chapter 11 relief Wednesday in Texas with more than $2 billion of liabilities, about $2 million of cash on hand and a prearranged restructuring plan supported by most of its secured lenders.
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April 15, 2025
Judge Tells Feds To Unfreeze Climate, Infrastructure Funds
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies must "turn the funding spigots back on" while environmental groups challenge the Trump administration's decision to cut congressionally approved dollars for infrastructure, agriculture, climate and other initiatives, a Rhode Island federal judge ruled Tuesday.
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April 15, 2025
New Mexico Pueblos Allowed Into Fed Mineral Lease Ban Suit
A pair of Native American pueblos can intervene in a Navajo Nation suit seeking to undo a Biden administration order withdrawing federal land from new mineral leasing around Chaco Canyon, a federal magistrate judge ruled Tuesday.
Expert Analysis
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8 Tech Tips For Stress-Free Remote Depositions
Court reporter Kelly D’Amico shares practical strategies for attorneys to conduct remote depositions with ease and troubleshoot any issues that arise, as it seems deposition-by-Zoom is here to stay after the pandemic.
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What Trump Presidency May Mean For Climate Reporting
While the Trump administration will likely take a hands-off approach to climate-related disclosures and rescind regulations promulgated under the Biden administration, state and international ESG laws mean the private sector may not reverse course on such disclosures, say attorneys at Seyfarth.
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Expect Surging Oil And Gas Industry Under New Trump Admin
Throughout his recent campaign, President-elect Donald Trump promised increased oil and natural gas production and reduced reliance on renewables — and his administration will likely bring more oil and gas dealmaking, faster federal permitting and attempts to roll back incentives for green energy, say attorneys at Sidley.
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SEC Action Indicates Continued Focus On ESG Disclosures
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently settled enforcement action against Invesco Advisers provides a road map for how regulatory agencies will continue to focus on ESG-related disclosures going forward, and underscores a focus on greenwashing, say attorneys at V&E.
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4 Ways Attorneys Can Emotionally Prepare For Trial
In the course of litigation, trial lawyers face a number of scenarios that can incite an emotional response, but formulating a mental game plan in advance of trial can help attorneys stay cool, calm and collected in the moment, says Rachel Lary at Lightfoot Franklin.
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The Bar Needs More Clarity On The Discovery Objection Rule
Almost 10 years after Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 34 was amended, attorneys still seem confused about what they should include in objections to discovery requests, and until the rules committee provides additional clarity, practitioners must beware the steep costs of noncompliance, says Tristan Ellis at Shanies Law Office.
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Key Plaintiff Litigation Strategies For Silicosis Lawsuits
A California stone worker's recent $52 million jury award highlights the growing silicosis crisis among employees in the stone fabrication industry — and points to the importance of a strategic approach to litigating silicosis cases against employers and manufacturers, says David Matthews at Matthews & Associates.
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Presidential Campaign Errors Provide Lessons For Trial Attys
Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign employed numerous strategies that evidently didn’t land, and trial attorneys should take note, because voters and jurors are both decision-makers who are listening for how one’s case presentation would affect them personally, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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What's Still Up In The Air After Ruling On Calif. Climate Laws
A California federal court's recent ruling on challenges to California's sweeping climate disclosure laws resolved some issues, but allows litigation over the constitutionality of the laws to continue, and leaves many important questions on what entities will need to do to comply with the laws unanswered, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.
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Series
Being A Navy Reservist Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Serving this country in uniform has not only been one of the greatest honors of my life, but it has also provided me with opportunities to broaden my legal acumen and interpersonal skills in ways that have indelibly contributed to my civilian practice, says Phillip Smith at Weinberg Wheeler.
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Cos. Should Inventory Issues To Prep For New Congress
As the legislative and oversight agendas of the 119th Congress come into sharper focus, corporate counsel should assess and plan for areas of potential oversight risk — from tax policy changes to supply chain integrity — even as much uncertainty remains, say attorneys at WilmerHale.
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Conservation Easement Cases Weave Web Of Uncertainty
Much of the IRS and Justice Department’s recent success in prosecuting syndicated conservation easement cases can be attributed to the government’s focus on the so-called PropCo ratio, which could indicate treacherous waters ahead for participants and their advisers, even under the incoming Trump administration, say attorneys at Polsinelli.
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Trump Fossil Fuel Focus Won't End Interest In Clean Energy
A second Donald Trump administration is expected to prioritize expanding oil and gas drilling and reducing regulations — but some clean energy investments, including energy storage, hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuel, will likely continue to garner bipartisan and market support, says Scott Segal at Bracewell.
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EPA's New Lead Pipe Rule Leaves Key Questions Unanswered
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recently released update to its Lead and Copper Rule is a major step forward in the elimination of lead from drinking water systems, but it lacks meaningful guidance on alternative materials, jurisdictional concerns, cost allocation and other topics, say attorneys at Foley Hoag.
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What To Expect From State AGs As Federal Control Changes
Under the next Trump administration, Democratic attorneys general are poised to strengthen enforcement in certain areas as Republican attorneys general continue their efforts with stronger federal support — resulting in a confusing patchwork of policies that create unintended liabilities for businesses operating in multiple jurisdictions, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.