Energy

  • February 10, 2025

    Xcel, Telecom Cos. Say Colo. Fire Plaintiffs Can't Opt Out Of Trial

    Xcel Energy and two telecom companies being sued over the Marshall Fire in Colorado told a state judge that hundreds of plaintiffs pushing to opt out of a common liability trial should not be able to do so, at least until expert reports are shared.

  • February 10, 2025

    Baker Hughes Obtains Toss Of Ex-Worker's 401(k) Fee Suit

    A Texas federal judge tossed an excessive recordkeeping fees suit Monday from a proposed class of Baker Hughes 401(k) plan participants, finding evidence wasn't presented to show that the plan administrator owed a fiduciary duty in regard to so-called float money.

  • February 10, 2025

    Colo. Judge Baffled By Party's Anonymity In Oil Secrets Suit

    A Colorado state judge puzzled over how to handle the fact that a key third party in a trade secrets case brought by Anschutz Exploration Corp. has insisted on not revealing their identity to the court, telling the parties at a hearing Monday she wouldn't close a trial just to get around the "very strange" situation.

  • February 10, 2025

    Investigators Say Texas Atty Lied To Help Clients Hide Assets

    A pair of court-appointed independent investigators have recommended that an attorney in Fort Worth be stripped of his license to practice in the Northern District of Texas because he lied to shield his clients' assets from $9 million in judgments.

  • February 10, 2025

    6th Circ. Backs Electric Co. In Fired Ex-Exec's Severance Suit

    The Sixth Circuit upheld the dismissal Monday of an ex-executive's suit claiming the American Electric Power Service Corp. owed him severance after he was fired for failing to tamp down on his assistant's excessive spending, stating the company showed he was ineligible for the extra pay.

  • February 10, 2025

    EV Biz Faraday Future Wins Chancery Toss Of Go-Public Suit

    Delaware's Court of Chancery on Monday tossed a proposed class action challenging electric vehicle maker Faraday Future's $1 billion take-public deal, saying that a stipulation in a $7.5 million settlement reached in a related case "unambiguously" precluded stockholders' claims against the California-based startup.

  • February 10, 2025

    Nevada Lithium Mine Violates Indigenous' Rights, Report Says

    The federal government's approval of an 18,000-acre open-pit lithium mine in northern Nevada is a violation of Indigenous' rights, according to a recent report, which says at least six tribes have ties to the site where they've experienced violations against their religion, culture and ancestral lands.

  • February 10, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Revives Cotter's Radiation Injury Suit Indemnity Bid

    The Federal Circuit on Monday revived Cotter Corp.'s bid for federal indemnity after settling claims related to alleged exposure to radioactive residue stemming from the Manhattan Project, saying a Court of Federal Claims judge read an indemnification statute too narrowly.

  • February 10, 2025

    Latest Ore. Fire Verdict Brings PacifiCorp Damages To $270M

    An Oregon jury held that PacifiCorp must pay $49.5 million to eight victims of the state's 2020 Labor Day wildfires, bringing the total damages verdicts in the class action to $270 million so far as more bellwether trials loom throughout 2025.

  • February 10, 2025

    Home Generator Maker Beats Suit Over COVID Sales Bust

    Power generator maker Generac Holdings Inc. and its top brass have beaten for now a proposed shareholder class action over Generac's alleged failure to keep up with a surge in business during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a Wisconsin federal judge saying, "misfortune does not necessarily equate with fraud."

  • February 10, 2025

    Green Groups Defend Methane Charge Against Industry Suit

    Conservation groups urged a Michigan federal judge to throw out industry group litigation challenging the constitutionality of an Inflation Reduction Act provision that directed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to impose fees on methane emitters, while the Trump administration asked to have the case put on hold "to review the matter."

  • February 10, 2025

    Tesla Seeks Chancery Toss Of Challenge Over Texas Move

    Delaware's chancellor said Monday she would issue a "short" letter reply to calls for dismissal of a stockholder claim that Tesla Inc. failed to secure a required supermajority vote to move its charter to Texas, following arguments that the court recently approved a simple majority vote in a similar case.

  • February 10, 2025

    Trump Buyout Plan Still On Hold As Unions Cite 'Confusion'

    A Boston federal judge on Monday extended his hold on President Donald Trump's federal worker buyout program as he weighs a request from unions to block the so-called Fork Directive, which promises months of pay to government employees who resign their posts.

  • February 10, 2025

    Baker Botts Partner Takes GC Role At NW Natural Gas

    Oregon-based Northwest Natural Holding Co. has added a Baker Botts LLP environment and energy attorney as its deputy general counsel and as general counsel of Northwest Natural Gas Co.

  • February 10, 2025

    Verizon Escapes Workers' Suit Over Lead-Covered Cables

    A Pennsylvania federal judge threw out a lawsuit filed on behalf of utility workers alleging Verizon endangered them by failing to properly dispose of lead-covered cables on telephone poles, ruling that allegations of suffering common ailments were not enough to support a class action.

  • February 10, 2025

    Investor Urges US Steel To Dump Deal After Trump Comments

    Activist investor Ancora Holdings Group on Monday urged U.S. Steel to abandon its proposed $14.9 billion merger with Japan's Nippon Steel, stating that the deal has "no chance of being resurrected" in light of statements made by President Donald Trump on Friday.

  • February 10, 2025

    Trump Admin Violating Order To Unfreeze Funds, Judge Says

    A Rhode Island federal judge ruled Monday the Trump administration is not complying with the court's temporary restraining order barring a freeze on funding for federal grants and programs, ordering the administration to immediately restore the frozen funds.

  • February 10, 2025

    Sidley Adds White & Case Energy Ace In Houston

    Sidley Austin LLP announced Monday that a former White & Case LLP attorney has joined the firm in Houston, expanding the firm's reach with leading energy companies and private equity funds.

  • February 10, 2025

    Emerson Butts Heads With Elliott On $7.2B AspenTech Deal

    Global technology company Emerson said Monday that its $7.2 billion offer to buy the remaining shares in AspenTech that it does not already own represents "compelling and certain value" for shareholders, pushing back after activist investment firm Elliott ripped the bid as an undervaluation.

  • February 10, 2025

    W. Virginia Coal Miner Hits Ch. 11 With $79M Debt, Sale Plans

    West Virginia coal miner White Forest Resources filed for Chapter 11 protection in Delaware with nearly $79 million in debt, saying after struggling with production and shipping issues it plans to sell one of its two mines before the end of April.

  • February 07, 2025

    Trump Isn't Obeying Order To Unfreeze Funds, States Say

    The Trump administration is not complying with a temporary restraining order barring a freeze on funding for federal grant and aid programs, a coalition of states told a Rhode Island federal judge Friday, asking the court to enforce its order and to enter a stiffer injunction blocking the funding freeze.

  • February 07, 2025

    Judiciary Dems Want Ethics Probe Into Musk's DOGE Work

    A dozen Democratic lawmakers on Friday pressed the U.S. attorney general and the Office of Government Ethics to look into whether Elon Musk's personal financial interests mean his work as a special government employee violates federal ethics laws.

  • February 07, 2025

    Nippon-US Steel Merger Targeted By Consumers In Calif.

    A group of consumers has asked a California federal court to prohibit Japan's Nippon Steel Corp. from acquiring U.S. Steel Corp. in their proposed $14.9 billion mega-merger, filing suit just days before President Donald Trump suggested that the deal was being called off.

  • February 07, 2025

    NJ Statehouse Catch-Up: Offshore Wind, AI, Neurodiversity

    The retraction of New Jersey's fourth offshore wind solicitation came alongside a wave of legislative and regulatory activity that also proposed workplace rules to bolster inclusivity and a new compensation path for assault victims

  • February 07, 2025

    Maxeon Investors Push To Keep Exchange Act Suit Alive

    The lead plaintiff in a proposed class action against Maxeon Solar Technologies Ltd. urged a California federal judge to reject the company's bid to escape the suit as well as its "fanciful" explanations for a two-day stock plunge that harmed shareholders.

Expert Analysis

  • 5 Key Takeaways From Energy Secretary's Confirmation

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    The recent confirmation hearing for U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright highlighted several important themes, including his vision for transforming the DOE, his nuanced stance on renewables, and a renewed emphasis on energy abundance and affordability, says Connor McCulloch at Ankura Consulting Group.

  • Lights, Camera, Ethics? TV Lawyers Tend To Set Bad Example

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    Though fictional movies and television shows portraying lawyers are fun to watch, Hollywood’s inaccurate depictions of legal ethics can desensitize attorneys to ethics violations and lead real-life clients to believe that good lawyers take a scorched-earth approach, says Nancy Rapoport at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

  • Steel Cases Test Executive Authority, Judicial Scope

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    Lawsuits challenging former President Joe Biden’s order blocking the merger of Japan's Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel may shape how future administrations wield presidential authority over foreign investment in the name of national security, says Hdeel Abdelhady at MassPoint Legal.

  • What Calif. Bill Could Mean For Battery Energy Storage

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    A newly proposed bill in the California Legislature would place major restrictions on the development of battery energy storage system projects in the state — but with Gov. Gavin Newsom's strong support for clean energy technology, the legislation will likely face significant obstacles, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • 3 Ways Trump Can Nix SEC's Climate Disclosure Rules

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    Given President Donald Trump's campaign statements and agency appointments, it's likely that his administration will try to annul the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate disclosure rules, but his options for doing so present unique opportunities and challenges, with varying levels of permanence and impact, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • Perspectives

    Accountant-Owned Law Firms Could Blur Ethical Lines

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    KPMG’s recent application to open a legal practice in Arizona represents the first overture by an accounting firm to take advantage of the state’s relaxed law firm ownership rules, but enforcing and supervising the practice of law by nonattorneys could prove particularly challenging, says Seth Laver at Goldberg Segalla.

  • Foreign Trade Zones Can Help Cos. With Tariff Exposure

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    Companies navigating shifts in global trade — like the Trump administration’s newly levied tariffs on Chinese goods — should consider whether the U.S. Department of Commerce's poorly understood foreign trade zone program could help reduce their import costs, says James Grogan at FTI Consulting.

  • The Post-Macquarie Securities Fraud-By-Omission Landscape

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    While the U.S. Supreme Court's 2024 opinion in Macquarie v. Moab distinguished inactionable "pure omissions" from actionable "half-truths," the line between the two concepts in practice is still unclear, presenting challenges for lower courts parsing statements that often fall within the gray area of "misleading by omission," say attorneys at Katten.

  • Trump's Energy Plans: Climate, Data Centers, LNG And More

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    With a host of executive orders addressing climate and emissions policies, expanded energy development, offshore and onshore projects, liquefied natural gas and more, the second Trump administration has already given energy companies much to consider, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • AI Will Soon Transform The E-Discovery Industrial Complex

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    Todd Itami at Covington discusses how generative artificial intelligence will reshape the current e-discovery paradigm, replacing the blunt instrument of data handling with a laser scalpel of fully integrated enterprise solutions — after first making e-discovery processes technically and legally harder.

  • Trump's Energy Plans: Funding, Permits And Nuclear Power

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    In the wake of President Donald Trump's flurry of first-day executive orders focusing on the energy sector, attorneys at Gibson Dunn analyze what this presidency will mean for energy-related grants and loans, changes to permitting processes and developments in nuclear power.

  • When Innovation Overwhelms The Rule Of Law

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    In an era where technology is rapidly evolving and artificial intelligence is seemingly everywhere, it’s worth asking if the law — both substantive precedent and procedural rules — can keep up with the light speed of innovation, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • FTC Focus: Avoiding 'Gun Jumping' Violations

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recent record $5.6 million "gun jumping" enforcement action against XCL Resources, EP Energy and Verdun Oil sends a clear message about the seriousness of violations of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act's premerger requirements, and highlights compliance tips such as avoiding premature integration of operations, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • The Tides Are Changing For Fair Access Banking Laws

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    The landscape of fair access banking laws, which seek to prevent banks from denying services based on individuals' ideological beliefs, has shifted in the last few years, but a new presidential administration provides renewed momentum for advancing such legislation against the backdrop of state efforts, say attorneys at Latham.

  • Imagine The Possibilities Of Openly Autistic Lawyering

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    Andi Mazingo at Lumen Law, who was diagnosed with autism about midway through her career, discusses how the legal profession can create inclusive workplaces that empower openly autistic lawyers and enhance innovation, and how neurodivergent attorneys can navigate the challenges and opportunities that come with disclosing one’s diagnosis.

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