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Energy
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July 24, 2025
FERC Chair Bids Goodbye At Last Monthly Meeting
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Mark Christie presided over his final monthly open meeting on Thursday, after President Donald Trump nominated Vinson & Elkins LLP energy regulatory counsel Laura Swett to fill the Republican commissioner's seat.
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July 24, 2025
Bellwether Plaintiffs Want Redo Of GE Pollution Trial
The plaintiffs in a bellwether pollution suit against General Electric Co. and a former subsidiary are asking for a new trial, arguing the jury should not have been able to find in the subsidiary's favor after it had admitted to responsibility in prior court filings.
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July 24, 2025
Green Groups Cleared To Join EV Funding Freeze Challenge
A Washington federal judge will let the Sierra Club and other environmental organizations enter a multistate lawsuit against the federal government seeking to preserve funding for new electric-vehicle charging infrastructure, concluding the groups have a significant interest in protecting the project funds. Â
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July 24, 2025
Equitrans Charged Over 2-Week Gas Leak In Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday on Thursday charged energy company Equitrans LP with failing to properly maintain a facility where natural gas leaked for 14 days into the air, ground and water, contaminating the nearby area and several neighboring states.
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July 24, 2025
CapVest Seeks $11.7B Stake In Stada, Plus More Rumors
British private equity firm CapVest Partners is looking to take a major stake in German drugmaker Stada Arzneimittel in a roughly $11.7 billion deal, Comedy Central's "South Park" creators have nabbed a $1.5 billion five-year streaming rights deal with Paramount, and ExxonMobil wants to explore deepwater blocks in Trinidad and Tobago for oil and gas. Here, À¶Ý®ÊÓÆµ breaks down these and other deal rumors from the past week.
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July 24, 2025
GAO Urges DOE Watchdog To Rethink Audit Division Costs
A U.S. Department of Energy watchdog significantly underestimated how much it would cost to audit billions of dollars of inherently risky incurred cost contracts the department has awarded, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
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July 23, 2025
Enviro Groups Slam FAA For SpaceX Review Shortcuts
The Federal Aviation Administration knew SpaceX's plans to restore migratory birds' coastal habitats in the event of an explosion at its Boca Chica, Texas, launch site were inadequate, but allowed the company to bypass a full environmental impact statement nonetheless, environmental groups said Wednesday in D.C. federal court.
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July 23, 2025
PREPA Bondholders Say Utility Swiped $2.9 Billion
The electric utility for Puerto Rico on Wednesday defended itself in New York bankruptcy court from allegations that it had improperly spent its revenues, which the bondholders claim as collateral for $8.5 billion worth of bonds.
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July 23, 2025
DOE Nixes $4.9B Loan Commitment To Grain Belt Express
The U.S. Department of Energy on Wednesday pulled the plug on its conditional commitment to a $4.9 billion loan guarantee for the first phase of the Grain Belt Express, a transmission line slated to cross parts of Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and Indiana.
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July 23, 2025
Trump Wins 9th Circ. Block On Order Providing Reorg Plans
The Ninth Circuit greenlighted the Trump administration's request to pause a lower court ruling requiring the government to turn over its layoff and reorganization plans in the case disputing whether the president can lawfully reshape federal agencies without congressional approval.
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July 23, 2025
Siemens Energy Failed To Cut Shoddy 401(k) Fund, Suit Says
A Siemens Energy employee said the company cost workers millions in retirement savings by failing to trim an underperforming fund from its $3 billion retirement plan and by using forfeited funds to pay for its match obligations instead of plan fees, according to his Texas federal suit.
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July 23, 2025
SEC Asks 8th Circ. To Rule On Abandoned Climate Regs
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission asked the Eighth Circuit on Wednesday to decide the fate of Biden-era climate disclosure rules that the agency has said it will no longer defend against challenges brought by Republican-led states and business interests.
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July 23, 2025
Feds Seek 15 Months For Lobbyist Over Madigan Scheme
Federal prosecutors have urged an Illinois federal judge to sentence ex-ComEd lobbyist Jay Doherty to one year and three months in prison for his "critical role" in a scheme to bribe former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, whose associates were paid as "subcontractors" under Doherty's lobbying contract with the utility even though they did little to no work.
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July 23, 2025
7th Circ. Revives Part Of Solar Firm's Panama Grid Suit
The Seventh Circuit on Tuesday largely upheld an Illinois federal judge's ruling that Spanish energy company Avanzalia Solar could not pursue its claims that Goldwind Americas blocked and delayed access to the Panamanian power grid.
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July 23, 2025
CFTC Settles With Puerto Rico-Based Gas Futures Trader
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission and a Puerto Rico-based natural gas futures trader on Wednesday announced that they had reached a settlement, ending the agency's suit alleging that the trader used nonpublic information to make profitable energy trades.
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July 23, 2025
Trump Publishes AI 'Action Plan' With 90 Policy Proposals
In an effort to secure America's leadership in artificial intelligence, the Trump administration released a blueprint Wednesday outlining ideas to accelerate innovation, modernize infrastructure and foster international collaboration while safeguarding national security.
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July 23, 2025
Feds Launch Forfeiture Suit For $7M In Fraud-Linked Crypto
The acting U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington said she is pushing for the forfeiture of about $7 million in cryptocurrency assets seized as part of an investigation into an oil and gas investment fraud scheme.
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July 22, 2025
EQT Investors' $167.5M Deal To End Merger Suit Gets 1st OK
Investors in energy company EQT Corp. have gotten an initial green light for their $167.5 million settlement to end claims the company overstated the benefits of its $6.7 billion merger with Rice Energy, drawing what's purported to be the largest shareholder settlement in the Western District of Pennsylvania closer to a close.
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July 22, 2025
CFTC Denied Early Win In $185M Metals Fraud Suit
A Texas federal judge has denied summary judgment to both the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and two individual defendants in a fraud suit that accuses them and their entities of ripping off more than 1,600, mostly elderly, investors and causing over $185 million in customer losses, setting the matter up for a potential trial.
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July 22, 2025
Gov'ts, Tribes Look To Settle Idaho Mining Pollution Suit
The U.S. government, Idaho and a tribal nation are asking a federal judge to approve an unopposed settlement with a phosphate ore mining company over its alleged dumping of hazardous substances within a national forest.
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July 22, 2025
Power Cos., PJM Back FERC Auction Rerun Decision
Power producers and PJM Interconnection LLC told the D.C. Circuit Monday the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission was right to let PJM rerun an electricity capacity auction with an inflated reliability requirement after the Third Circuit ruled changes to it were retroactive ratemaking.
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July 22, 2025
Judge Rejects Bondholder Claim Against Puerto Rico
A New York federal judge found Tuesday the terms of Puerto Rico's debt restructuring plan bars holders of bonds issued by the island's public electric utility from lodging a claim against its government.
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July 22, 2025
Quantum Wants FTC To Lift Order On $5.2B Natural Gas Deal
The Federal Trade Commission is asking for public feedback on a Quantum Energy Partners petition aiming to set aside a consent order the agency entered over a $5.2 billion deal that EQT Corp. struck with Quantum for oil and gas assets in Appalachia.
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July 22, 2025
Pa. Gas Cos. Sued Over Heater Explosion That Killed 6
Natural gas from a leaking pipeline allegedly filled the basement of a suburban Pittsburgh home, fueling an explosion that leveled three houses and killed six people in 2023, according to lawsuits filed Tuesday by the families of three victims.
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July 22, 2025
Final OK Sought On Energy Co.'s $8.2M 401(k) Suit Deal
A class of employees who participated in a Pennsylvania energy company's retirement plan have asked a federal judge to give final approval to an $8.2 million settlement resolving claims that the employees' 401(k) plans were mismanaged.
Expert Analysis
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5 Areas Contractors Should Watch After 1st 100 Days
Federal agencies and contractors face challenges from staff reductions, contract terminations, pending regulatory reform and other actions from the second Trump administration's first 100 days, but other areas stand to become more efficient and cost-effective, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.
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Series
Adapting To Private Practice: From DOJ Enviro To Mid-Law
Practitioners leaving a longtime government role for private practice — as when I departed the U.S. Department of Justice’s environmental enforcement division — should prioritize finding a firm that shares their principles, values their experience and will invest in their transition, says John Cruden at Beveridge & Diamond.
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Why Trade Cases May Put Maple Leaf Deference On Review
When litigation challenging the president’s trade actions reaches the Federal Circuit, the court will have to reevaluate the Maple Leaf standard in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2024 Loper Bright decision limiting Chevron-like deference to cases involving statutory provisions in which Congress delegated discretionary authority to the executive branch, say attorneys at Wiley.
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Key Questions When Mediating Environmental Disputes
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.
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Trump DOE's Plan On AI Offers Challenges, Opportunities
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.
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Legal Ethics Considerations For Law Firm Pro Bono Deals
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.
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Series
Playing Football Made Me A Better Lawyer
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.
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10 Arbitrations And A 5th Circ. Ruling Flag Arb. Clause Risks
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.
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How Trump Energy Order May Challenge State Climate Efforts
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.
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EPA's Proposed GHG Reform Could Hinder Climate Regulation
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.
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Series
Power To The Paralegals: The Value Of Unified State Licensing
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.
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4 Takeaways From La. Coastal Wetland Damage Verdict
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.
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10 Soft Skills Every GC Should Master
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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Reviving A Dormant Criminal Statute In Antitrust Prosecution
The U.S. Department of Justice is poised to revive a dormant misdemeanor statute to resolve bid-rigging charges against a foreign national, providing important context to a recent effort to entice foreign defendants to take responsibility for pending charges or face the risk of extradition, say attorneys at Axinn.
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Traversing The Shifting Sands Of ESG Reporting Compliance
Multinational corporations have increasingly found themselves between a rock and a hard place attempting to comply with EU and California ESG requirements while not running afoul of expanding U.S. anti-ESG regimes, but focusing on what is material to shareholder value and establishing strong governance can help, say attorneys at MoFo.