Utah High Court Leaves Youth Climate Claims Down For Now

By Juan-Carlos Rodriguez

The Utah Supreme Court on Thursday found that a group of youths hasn't shown it has grounds to pursue a lawsuit against the state over its energy policies that allegedly contribute to climate change.

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Toyota's Hino Motors To Pay $1.6B In Emissions Fraud Deal

By Emilie Ruscoe

Toyota unit Hino Motors Ltd. admitted to manipulating emissions and fuel-economy test results for over 100,000 diesel vehicles it sold in the U.S., formalizing part of its $1.6 billion January deal resolving the U.S. Department of Justice's civil and criminal allegations it rigged its test result.

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No Coal Plant Rescue Plans On The Table, FERC Chair Says

By Keith Goldberg

President Donald Trump's recent call for his administration to encourage more coal-fired power use hasn't resulted in any order to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to craft policies to prop up coal plants, Chairman Mark Christie said Thursday.

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NTSB Says Maryland Didn't Track Risks Of Key Bridge Collapse

By Linda Chiem

The National Transportation Safety Board recommended Thursday that 68 bridges in 19 states be evaluated for risk of collapse in the event of a vessel strike, and found that Maryland officials failed to adequately calculate vulnerabilities in Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge well before its collapse last year.

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Tribe's Claims Against Alaska Gold Mine Permit Reduced

By Joyce Hanson

An Alaska federal judge has tossed several claims by a tribal village against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over its approval of a permit for an open pit gold mine, finding it is not required to conduct a subsistence evaluation or follow its internal consultation policy.

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Oil And Gas Cos. Say DC 'Greenwashing' Claims Are Too Vague

By Jared Foretek

A D.C. Superior Court judge pressed both sides in the district's consumer protection suit against four major oil and gas companies Thursday to say whether the city's claims that the companies misled consumers through systematic "greenwashing" campaigns fall within the scope of what she called a "very broad" statute.

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Animal, Community Groups Can't Foil Iowa 'Ag-Gag' Law

By Juan-Carlos Rodriguez

An Iowa federal judge has tossed animal rights and community advocacy groups' First Amendment challenge to the state's "ag-gag" law that's designed to thwart undercover investigations of animal treatment.

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Saatva Misled Consumers About Mattress Material, Suit Says

By Sarah Jarvis

Saatva, a direct-to-consumer mattress brand, has been hit with a proposed class action in a New York federal court, with shoppers accusing it of misrepresenting that its products are nontoxic, natural and chemical-free, even though its mattresses contained materials that pose health and environmental concerns.

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Conn. AG Sues Builder, Companies For State Park Clear-Cut

By Brian Steele

A real estate builder and two of his companies have illegally clear-cut multiple acres of Connecticut state park land, installed fixtures including a basketball court and a guesthouse without permission and blocked public access to the area, according to an enforcement action brought by the state attorney general's office.

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Roundup

NC Statehouse Catch-Up: Helene, Crypto, Curbing The AG

By Hayley Fowler

Hurricane Helene is still center stage in the North Carolina General Assembly nearly six months after it tore through a large swath of the state, with the governor signing off on the latest round of funding as one lawmaker seeks to carve out cash to rebuild a destroyed courthouse.

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Property Owner Demands Appraisal Of $10.5M Hail Claim

By Ganesh Setty

A Tennessee property owner asked a federal court Thursday to order a Travelers unit to participate in an appraisal of its hail damage claim, alleging the insurer denied coverage even though an "independent evaluation" of the owner's damages estimated that the hail damage exceeded $10.5 million.

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Nippon Calls Consumer Suit Over US Steel Merger 'Baseless'

By Hailey Konnath

Nippon Steel Corp. has urged a California federal court to throw out a consumer suit over its blocked $14.9 billion merger with U.S. Steel Corp., calling it yet another "in a long line of baseless lawsuits" over a merger of public companies that they have "no standing to challenge in the first place."

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Deals Rumor Mill

Oracle Eyes Stake In TikTok's US Entity, And More Rumors

By Tom Zanki

Oracle is considering acquiring a stake in TikTok's U.S. operations that would allow the social media giant to continue doing business here under certain security assurances. Meanwhile, Brookfield Asset Management has emerged as the top contender to acquire Colonial Pipeline, and German drugmaker Stada is delaying its IPO until at least September because of market volatility. Here, Law360 breaks down the notable deal rumors from the past week.

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Brief

Denver Environmental Lawyer Rejoins V&E From Kirkland

By Andrea Keckley

Vinson & Elkins LLP has announced the return of a Denver environmental lawyer from Kirkland & Ellis LLP.

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The PFAS Causation Question Is Far From Settled

In litigation over per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, the general causation question — whether the type of PFAS concerned is actually capable of causing disease — often receives little attention, but the scientific evidence around this issue is far from conclusive, and is a point worth raising by defense counsel, says John Gardella at CMBG3 Law.

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Series

Performing Stand-Up Comedy Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Whether I’m delivering a punchline on stage or a closing argument in court, balancing stand-up comedy performances and my legal career has demonstrated that the keys to success in both endeavors include reading the room, landing the right timing and making an impact, says attorney Rebecca Palmer.

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Paul Weiss Stuns Legal Industry With Trump DEI Deal

By Ryan Boysen

Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP's decision to strike a deal with the Trump administration to defuse an executive order targeting the firm has drawn criticism across the legal industry and highlights the challenges preventing BigLaw firms from taking collective action against the White House.

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Skadden Atty Quits Over Lack Of Response To Trump Orders

By Anna Sanders

An associate for Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP who led an effort pushing for BigLaw to rally behind firms targeted by President Donald Trump's executive orders has publicly resigned in a firmwide email after Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP struck a deal with the administration to get one such order rescinded. 

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Up Next At High Court: Non-Delegation & Clean Air Fights

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court will return to the bench Monday to hear arguments in a dispute that could revive a long-dormant separation of powers principle and trigger a regulatory power shift. 

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3rd Circ. Axes Ethics Claim Against Judge Critical Of Trump

By Emily Sawicki

A D.C. federal judge who criticized then-candidate Donald Trump in a CNN interview last spring has escaped judicial misconduct charges, with the Judicial Council of the Third Circuit finding that the judge had not violated judicial canons in his statements regarding Trump's social media posts amid a pending legal action.

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Ex-Cognizant CLO Reconsidering Dismissal Of Paul Weiss

By Carla Baranauckas

A former Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. executive facing bribery charges indicated Friday that he may reconsider his decision to fire Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP as his trial counsel, now that President Donald Trump has rescinded an executive order limiting the firm's access to federal buildings and officials.

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Judge Accused Of Bias Expresses Regret Over MDL Remarks

By Emily Johnson

The chief judge of the Eleventh Circuit has dismissed a judicial ethics complaint alleging that a Florida federal judge had shown impermissible bias in favor of women leading the multidistrict litigation over the hormonal contraceptive drug Depo-Provera, after the judge said she "regrets any misunderstanding" and took steps to address the issue.

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Attys Suing FIFA Say Humans, Not AI, Made Citation Errors

By Lauren Berg

Attorneys accusing soccer's international governing body, its Puerto Rican affiliate and a regional soccer association of trying to block local rivals told a Puerto Rico federal judge Friday that it was simply human oversight — not the use of artificial intelligence — that led to citation inaccuracies in recent filings.

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Ex-Buzbee Client Says Roc Nation Can't Exit Conspiracy Suit

By Lynn LaRowe

Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter's company Roc Nation can't exit a lawsuit that claims his company conspired to "finance" malpractice suits against attorney Tony Buzbee because it was "an integral and driving force" behind the alleged misconduct, according to a response filed in Texas federal court to a motion to dismiss on jurisdictional grounds.

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Analysis

Nonlawyer Migrant Aides See Clear Mission But Murky Future

By Marco Poggio

"Accredited representatives," a little-known and underutilized role that allows nonlawyers to represent immigrants with the federal government's authorization, are facing unprecedented demand but also an uncertain future under the Trump administration.

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No Suspension Pause For Ex-Alex Jones Atty, Ethics Boss Says

By Brian Steele

A former Alex Jones attorney's two-week suspension from practicing law in Connecticut should not be halted amid an impending appeal, but he should get credit for a previous weeklong suspension he served over the same mishandling of confidential information about family members of Sandy Hook shooting victims, the state's chief legal ethics official said in a new filing.

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3rd Circ. Takes On NJ Judicial Privacy Law's Constitutionality

By Rose Krebs

The Third Circuit has granted requests by several data brokers to review a lower court judge's ruling that New Jersey's judicial privacy and security measure, known as Daniel's Law, is constitutional.

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UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Laura Stewart Liberty

This past week in London has seen a sub-postmaster sue the Post Office and Fujitsu, Russian insurer Ingosstrakh hit the Financial Times with a defamation claim, and Britvic-owned Robinsons Soft Drinks file a passing off claim against Aldi. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

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GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Michele Gorman

Cognizant's former chief legal officer, who's facing bribery charges, requested a trial delay after he fired Paul Weiss from his defense team following the Trump administration's suspension of the firm's security clearances. Meanwhile, new findings show that women are still compensated less than men in legal operations roles. These are some of the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.​

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check LLP, Grant & Eisenhofer PA and Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after a D.C. federal judge upheld a $612.4 million jury verdict against the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

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In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

For those who missed out, here's a look back at the law firms, stories and expert analyses that generated the most buzz on Law360 last week.

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