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EPA Illegally Ended Environmental Justice Grants, Groups Say

By Juan-Carlos Rodriguez

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.

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Brief

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

By Lauren Berg

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."

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FERC Chair Aims To Stay Beyond His Term's End

By Keith Goldberg

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.

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EPA Seeks To Appeal Flint Water Crisis Immunity Ruling

By Carolyn Muyskens

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.

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Calif. FAIR Plan Fire Policy Is Unlawful, Court Rules

By Hope Patti

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.

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

By Bonnie Eslinger

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."

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

By Clara Geoghegan

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.

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Deals Rumor Mill

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

By Tom Zanki

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. Here, Law360 breaks down the notable deal rumors from the past week.

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Akerman Adds Steptoe Energy Transactional Atty In DC

By Jack Rodgers

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.

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

By James Mills

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.

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In NRC Ruling, Justices Affirm Hearing Process Still Matters

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas safeguards the fairness, clarity and predictability of the regulatory system by affirming that to challenge an agency's decision in court, litigants must first meaningfully participate in the hearing process that Congress and the agency have established, says Jonathan Rund at the Nuclear Energy Institute.

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3 Juror Psychology Principles For Expert Witness Testimony

Expert witnesses can sometimes fall into traps when trying to teach juries complex topics by failing to consider the psychology of juror comprehension, but attorneys can help witnesses avoid these pitfalls with a deeper understanding of cognitive lag, chunking and learning styles, says Steve Wood at Courtroom Sciences.

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Opinion

Senate's 41% Litigation Finance Tax Would Hurt Legal System

The Senate’s latest version of the Big Beautiful Bill Act would impose a 41% tax on the litigation finance industry, but the tax is totally disconnected from the concerns it purports to address, and it would set the country back to a time when small plaintiffs had little recourse against big defendants, says Anthony Sebok at Cardozo School of Law.

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Series

Performing As A Clown Makes Me A Better Lawyer

To say that being a clown in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has changed my legal career would truly be an understatement — by creating an opening to converse on a unique topic, it has allowed me to connect with clients, counsel and even judges on a deeper level, says Charles Tatelbaum at Tripp Scott.

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McDermott, Schulte Roth Vote To Approve $2.8B Merger

By Kevin Penton

Partners at Schulte Roth & Zabel and McDermott Will & Emery have voted in favor of merging to create the combined firm of McDermott Will & Schulte, the firms announced Thursday.

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Audio

10 Years Later: Obergefell Attorneys, In Their Own Words

By Steven Trader

Marking the decade anniversary of the Obergefell opinion, Law360 asked the attorneys who argued the case at the Supreme Court what it was like being at the center of such a monumental case, how a ruling favoring same-sex marriage changed the legal landscape over the past decade, and the remaining legal appetite to overturn it.

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Kirkland Stops Repping Novartis After Regeneron Sought DQ

By Bryan Koenig

A New York federal judge accepted the withdrawal Thursday of the entire Kirkland & Ellis LLP team that recently joined Novartis Pharma's legal team battling antitrust allegations over the eye medication Eylea, just a week after plaintiff Regeneron Pharmaceuticals sought their disqualification over an "unthinkable" conflict of interest by the lawyers, whose firm previously represented Regeneron.

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Justices Say SC Medicaid Patient Can't Sue To Pick Provider

By Dan McKay and Mark Payne

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a patient can't challenge South Carolina's decision to kick Planned Parenthood from the state Medicaid program because it includes abortions among its services.

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Justices Allow Texas Death Row Inmate's DNA Suit

By Marco Poggio

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday said a Texas death row inmate can sue state officials in federal court to try to obtain post-conviction DNA testing, a decision that could open the door to broader challenges to how Texas provides access to forensic evidence after conviction.

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Trump 2.0's First Group Of Judicial Noms Goes To Full Senate

By Courtney Bubl茅

The first batch of judicial nominations from President Donald Trump's second term were sent to the Senate floor on Thursday, as they were voted out of committee along party lines.

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Justices Say DHS Orders Final In Withholding-Removal Cases

By Britain Eakin

The U.S. Supreme Court held Thursday that the 30-day statutory deadline for challenging deportation orders in withholding of removal cases starts when the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issues a final administrative review order, not when Board of Immigration Appeals proceedings conclude.

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Ex-Trump Atty Chesebro Disbarred In NY For Fake Elector Plot

By Gina Kim

President Donald Trump's former attorney Kenneth Chesebro, the so-called "architect" in the plot to use fake electors to overturn Georgia's 2020 election results, has been disbarred from practicing law in the state of New York, according to a unanimous decision issued on Thursday. 

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Fla. Lawyers Suspended For Online Criticism Of Judge

By David Minsky

Florida's high court on Thursday approved a one-month suspension for a father-daughter team of attorneys for their online comments criticizing a judge who reversed a $2.75 million jury verdict in favor of a doctor who sued for discrimination, finding that there were also mitigating factors in the attorneys' cases.

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Judge Known For Financial Education Advocacy To Retire

By Madison Arnold

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Laurel M. Isicoff, who has spent her career promoting financial literacy as a way to avoid financial insolvency, will retire next May after 20 years on the bench in the Southern District of Florida, the Eleventh Circuit confirmed Thursday.

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Brief

New FCC Republican Names Key Legal Staff

By Christopher Cole

Commissioner Olivia Trusty, who was sworn in this week as the newest member of the Federal Communications Commission, announced the hiring of several top aides Thursday.

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