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Environmental
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May 23, 2025
Judge Skeptical Of Harm In Recall Of Tribe's Gambling Eligibility
A D.C. federal judge on Friday signaled concerns with the Interior Department's decision to revoke a California tribe's gambling eligibility for a casino-resort project in the Bay Area, but said that the tribe faces an uphill battle in establishing the irreparable harm needed to secure a preliminary injunction.
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May 23, 2025
Battery Co. Li-Cycle Gets Ch. 15 Nod Amid Glencore Sale Bid
A New York bankruptcy judge on Friday granted Chapter 15 recognition to lithium battery recycler Li-Cycle and affiliates after overruling an objection from the U.S. Trustee's Office, as the Toronto-based debtor looks to sell its business and secure new funding.
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May 23, 2025
Guggenheim-Backed Housing Proposal Upheld In SC
A South Carolina federal judge upheld a 9,000-unit housing plan brought in part by heirs of the Guggenheim family on the Cainhoy Peninsula near Charleston, finding federal authorities properly considered environmental effects of the development.
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May 23, 2025
House Budget Would Sap Emerging Energy Tax Credit Market
The House's sweeping tax and budget legislation would scrap a relatively new financing option that lets project development owners sell valuable green energy tax credits for cash, which would likely doom or severely hamper the burgeoning market for the credits.
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May 23, 2025
La. Sued For Blocking Community Air Monitoring Sensors
Louisiana is hindering its citizens' ability to monitor air pollution in their communities by threatening to dish out "crippling" fines to those who share data collected from certain affordable sensors, according to a lawsuit filed by environmental groups accusing the state of violating the First and 14th amendments.
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May 22, 2025
Critics Decry Budget Bill As Clean Energy 'Attempted Murder'
The budget reconciliation bill that House Republicans passed Thursday replaced an earlier plan to phase out renewable energy tax credits with a 60-day qualification period, leaving project developers struggling to meet a deadline experts say is unrealistic and effectively guts the benefit.
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May 22, 2025
EV Carmaker Lucid Gets Inflated Biz Suit Trimmed, Again
A California federal judge on Thursday again trimmed a proposed investor class action that alleges electric carmaker Lucid made misleading production forecasts, finding that the latest complaint still doesn't adequately allege the defendants knew some of the challenged statements were false when they were issued.
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May 22, 2025
Proxy Proposal Omissions Rose Post-SEC Bulletin, Study Finds
There was a sharp drop in the total number of shareholder proxy proposals submitted this year and a rise in the number of submitted proposals that were omitted from corporate ballots following the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's rescission of past guidance, ISS Corporate Solutions Inc. said Thursday.
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May 22, 2025
7th Circ. Wary Of Crypto Fund Owner's Appeal Of $231M Fine
A Seventh Circuit panel on Thursday pressed counsel for a cryptocurrency fund operator challenging a $231 million judgment for running a Ponzi scheme to address whether he'd waived his argument that the digital tokens his funds invested in aren't "commodities" subject to regulation by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission by not raising it in the lower court.
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May 22, 2025
EPA Warns States, Tribes On Clean Water Act Authority
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday warned states and tribes that their authority under the Clean Water Act to veto certain water quality certifications shouldn't be used to "shut down projects" for concerns outside the law's scope.
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May 22, 2025
Calif. Judge Likely To Extend Block On Gov't Reorg, Job Cuts
A California federal judge indicated Thursday she'll likely convert her temporary restraining order into a preliminary injunction against President Donald Trump's executive order to reduce the federal workforce, saying the law "seems clear" that presidents cannot issue large-scale agency reductions without congressional approval and "to hold otherwise" would contradict nine previous presidents and 21 congresses.
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May 22, 2025
Ill. AG, Trump Tower Strike $4.8M Deal To End Wastewater Row
Illinois' attorney general announced Thursday that the state has struck a deal with the owners of Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago to resolve litigation over the hotel's continual underreporting of the amount of wastewater it discharges into the Chicago River, in violation of environmental laws.
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May 22, 2025
Federal Gov't Backs States' BlackRock Coal Investments Suit
The federal government on Thursday threw its support behind a case from Texas and several other states that accuses investment groups including BlackRock Inc. of using their energy holdings to drive up coal prices under the guise of environmental concerns.
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May 22, 2025
Congress Kills Calif. EV Program Waiver, Other Climate Rules
Congress on Thursday sent President Donald Trump four resolutions undoing U.S. Environmental Protection Agency actions, including the Biden-era approval of California's effort to ban the sale of gas-powered vehicles in the state, drawing a promise of litigation from the state.
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May 22, 2025
Coalition Backs Calif. Tribe's Fight Over $700M Casino Project
A coalition of tribes weighed in on a dispute over the federal government's decision to rescind gambling eligibility for the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians' $700 million casino project, questioning the federal government's perceived acquiescence to pushback from other tribes.
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May 22, 2025
Michigan Seeks 6th Circ. Rehearing In Enbridge Pipeline Row
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has asked the full Sixth Circuit to find she is protected by sovereign immunity from an Enbridge Energy lawsuit to halt her efforts to shut down an oil and natural gas pipeline.
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May 22, 2025
5th Circ. Denies Challenge To La. Oversight Of Carbon Wells
A Fifth Circuit panel said several environmental groups failed to show any imminent injuries stemming from a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency decision to approve Louisiana's plan to oversee carbon sequestration wells, and dismissed their challenge for lack of standing.
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May 21, 2025
Ore. Fire Verdict Brings PacifiCorp Damages To $385M
An Oregon jury held Wednesday that PacifiCorp must pay roughly $50 million to 10 victims of the state's 2020 Labor Day wildfires, bringing the total damages verdicts in the class action against the Berkshire Hathaway-owned utility to $385 million as more bellwether trials are expected to play out throughout 2025.
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May 21, 2025
SC Judge Restores Frozen Federal Grant Funding
A South Carolina federal judge ordered the Trump administration to restore 32 grants funded by the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act after the government said it wasn't contesting the merits of the grant recipients' claims.
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May 21, 2025
Gold Mine Risks Alaska Preserve And Whales, Tribe Claims
An Alaskan tribe and environmental groups have filed suit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers seeking to stop a mining company from expanding gold operations, activity that would contaminate the waterways near a national park and harm the endangered beluga whale population.
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May 21, 2025
Offshore Wind Farm Foes Back Trump Permitting Pause
Opponents of a New Jersey offshore wind farm on Wednesday backed the Trump administration's freeze on wind project permitting, telling a Massachusetts federal judge the moratorium is both legal and constitutional.
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May 21, 2025
EPA Chief Defends Trump Plan To Halve Agency Budget
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin on Wednesday told senators that despite President Donald Trump's proposal to cut the EPA's budget by 55% and an internal reorganization, agency scientists can handle the current workload.
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May 21, 2025
Solvay Wants Sanctions For 3 Firms Over Confidential Info
Lawyers at three plaintiffs law firms were hit Wednesday with a bid for sanctions by a polymer company that claims the attorneys used confidential discovery in federal multidistrict litigation in New Jersey to file a new action.
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May 21, 2025
Ky. Judge Nixes Treasury's Bid To End Labor Contracts
The U.S. Department of the Treasury lacks standing to seek an order allowing it to lawfully terminate its labor contracts with a federal employee union, a Kentucky federal judge ruled, finding the agency's alleged harm is based on speculation about the potential consequences of enforcing an executive order.
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May 21, 2025
Distributor Can't Duck Revised Crab Price-Fixing Suit
A California federal magistrate judge added Ocean King Fish Inc. to a list of more than a dozen distributors that must face a proposed class action from crabbers alleging a conspiracy to cap prices paid to fishermen for Dungeness crab in the Pacific Northwest.
Expert Analysis
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Series
Playing Rugby Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My experience playing rugby, including a near-fatal accident, has influenced my legal practice on a professional, organizational and personal level by showing me the importance of maintaining empathy, fostering team empowerment and embracing the art of preparation, says James Gillenwater at Greenberg Traurig.
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Looking Back At 2024's Noteworthy State AG Litigation
State attorneys general across the U.S. took bold steps in 2024 to address unlawful activities by corporations in several areas, including privacy and data security, financial transparency, children's internet safety, and other overall consumer protection claims, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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Updated FWS Regs Will Streamline Right-Of-Way Permitting
Although the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's final rule covering rights-of-way across lands administered by the service will bring increased up-front fees and stricter permit terms and conditions, it also provides a clearer application process and should reduce permitting delays and total costs, say attorneys at Holland & Hart.
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Nippon, US Steel Face Long Odds On Merger Challenge
Following the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States' review of Japan's Nippon Steel's proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel, the companies face a formidable uphill battle in challenging the president's exercise of authority to block the deal on national security grounds, say attorneys at Kirkland.
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Opinion
No, Litigation Funders Are Not 'Fleeing' The District Of Del.
A recent study claimed that litigation funders have “fled” Delaware federal court due to a standing order requiring disclosure of third-party financing, but responsible funders have no problem litigating in this jurisdiction, and many other factors could explain the decline in filings, say Will Freeman and Sarah Tsou at Omni Bridgeway.
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The Compliance Trends And Imperatives On Tap In 2025
The corporate ethics and compliance landscape is rapidly evolving, posing challenges from conflicting stakeholder expectations to technological disruptions, and businesses will need to explore human-centered, data-driven and evidence-based practices, says Hui Chen at CDE Advisors.
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Hydrogen Regs Will Provide More Certainty — If They Survive
Newly finalized regulations implementing the Section 45V clean hydrogen tax credit allow producers more flexibility, and should therefore help put the industry on more solid footing — but the incoming Trump administration and Republican Congress will have multiple options for overturning or altering the regulations, say attorneys at Steptoe.
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5 E-Discovery Predictions For 2025 And Beyond
In the year to come, e-discovery will be shaped by new and emerging trends, from the adoption of artificial intelligence provisions in protective orders, to the proliferation of emojis as a source of evidence in contemporary litigation, say attorneys at Littler.
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NY Plastic Pollution Verdict May Not Bode Well For Other Suits
The dismissal of New York state's public nuisance complaint against PepsiCo over pollution of the Buffalo River with the company's single use plastic bottles may not augur well for similar lawsuits filed by Baltimore and Los Angeles County, although tort law varies from state to state, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.
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Climate Disclosure Spotlight Shifts To 2 Calif. Laws
With Donald Trump's election spelling the all-but-certain demise of the proposed federal climate disclosure rules, new laws in California currently stand as the nation's only broadly applicable climate disclosure requirements — and their brevity is both a blessing and a curse, say attorneys at Davis Polk.
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Final Hydrogen Tax Credit Regs Add Flexibility For Producers
The recently released final regulations implementing the Inflation Reduction Act's clean hydrogen production tax credit offer taxpayers greater flexibility, reducing risk and creating more certainty for investments in the industry, thus diminishing — but not eliminating — the risk of legal challenges to the regulations, say attorneys at Steptoe.
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How Decline Of Deference Will Affect Trump Policymaking
An administrative law regime without Chevron deference may limit the Trump administration’s ability to implement new policies in the short term, but ultimately help it in the long term, and all parties with an interest in regulatory changes will have to take a fresh approach to litigation, say attorneys at Covington.
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Anticipating The Maritime Sector's Future Under Trump 2.0
With the Republicans taking control of a governance trifecta, the maritime sector should brace for both familiar leadership and new change that could significantly shift shipping and defense priorities, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.
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Defense Strategies For Addressing Conspiracy-Minded Jurors
As conspiracy theories continue to proliferate and gain traction in the U.S., defense attorneys will need to consider ways to keep conspiracy-minded jurors from sitting on the jury, and to persuade them when this isn’t possible, say consultants at IMS Legal Strategies.
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7 Ways 2nd Trump Administration May Affect Partner Hiring
President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House will likely have a number of downstream effects on partner hiring in the legal industry, from accelerated hiring timelines to increased vetting of prospective employees, say recruiters at Macrae.