Come September in a presidential election year, the policy world feels like a “winner take all” scenario with the election’s outcome determining how — or this year whether — we are regulated. While, of course, the election...more
9/12/2024
/ Administrative Interpretation ,
Chevron Deference ,
Corner Post Inc v Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
FERC ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Popular ,
Presidential Elections ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Sustainability
Per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS) include various synthetic chemicals that have been used in products ranging from cookware to clothing and carpets to cosmetics for decades. These various uses, when combined with a...more
Often motivated by the lack of federal engagement on environmental issues, various states have evaluated adding “Green Amendments” to their state constitutions. The practical impact of these amendments will be borne out as...more
With terms like “net zero” and “carbon positive” proliferating in marketing jargon across industries, the US Department of Energy (DOE) has recently stepped in to clarify what constitutes a “zero emissions” building....more
Discussion of administrative law usually doesn’t happen at the dinner table. But a series of recent US Supreme Court decisions may have changed this introducing talk of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and the...more
7/15/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v Food and Drug Administration ,
Chevron Deference ,
Corner Post Inc v Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Ohio v Environmental Protection Agency ,
Public Trust Doctrine ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Sackett v EPA ,
SCOTUS ,
SEC v Jarkesy ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Statutory Interpretation
On the final day of its term, the US Supreme Court rejected the principle of “administrative finality,” an additional blow to federal agencies after the Court rejected “Chevron deference” the previous day....more
Governments are increasingly discussing climate change, including resilience to climate impacts and how to promote the energy transition. Less common are governmental commitments to take concrete steps to address climate...more
On the second-to-last day of its term, the US Supreme Court issued its decisions in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and Relentless, Inc. v. Dep’t of Commerce. These decisions overruled Chevron USA. v. National Resource...more
7/2/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Chevron Deference ,
Chevron v NRDC ,
Clean Air Act ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Government Agencies ,
Judicial Authority ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
National Marine Fisheries Service ,
Regulatory Authority ,
SCOTUS ,
SEC v Jarkesy ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
West Virginia v EPA
A recent US Supreme Court decision, which grabbed headlines because it involved an abortion-related drug, with potential repercussions in litigation far-removed from health care due to the decision hinging on “standing,”...more
ESG stands for “environmental, social, and governance.” Though often overlooked, two recent cases — Spence v. American Airlines and Exxon v. Arjuna Capital, LLC — focus on G’s place in the ESG initialism.
Here, we break...more
6/4/2024
/ 401k ,
Activist Investors ,
American Airlines ,
Breach of Duty ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Exxon Mobil ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Adviser ,
Pension Funds ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On May 15, BIC USA Inc. was hit with a proposed class action in California federal court concerning allegations that some of its razors contain per- and polyfluoralkyl substances (PFAS), sometimes referred to as “forever...more
Below, we break down three recent decisions and explain why the regulated community should pay attention to them: the first from the Southern District of New York in City of New York v. Exxon Mobil Corporation; the second...more
5/24/2024
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Denial of Certiorari ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
False Advertising ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Greenwashing ,
Human Rights ,
New York ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
SCOTUS ,
Sustainability ,
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)
Juliana v. United States — brought by 21 children against the United States and alleging that the government has failed to adequately respond to climate change — has ping-ponged through the federal court system since...more
Federal environmental enforcement can be civil, criminal, or both. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced a policy intended to better coordinate its civil and criminal environmental enforcement. The...more
Regulators at all levels are seeking to advance climate-change related policies. Of late, municipalities have increasingly sought to “decarbonize” buildings and related infrastructure through changes to building codes and...more
4/23/2024
/ Building Codes ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Change ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Sector ,
Green Buildings ,
Incentives ,
Municipalities ,
Renewable Energy ,
State and Local Government
The sale of most compact florescent light bulbs (CFLs) is set to be phased out in 2028 under recent energy efficiency regulations finalized by the US Department of Energy (DOE).
The new energy efficiency standards for...more
While environmental justice (EJ) concerns continued to drive policymaking in early 2024, EJ efforts increasingly faced headwinds coming from various and sometimes unexpected directions. Below, we will summarize recent...more
4/17/2024
/ City of Chicago ,
Clean Air Act ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Final Rules ,
Human Rights ,
Louisiana ,
NGOs ,
Petrochemicals ,
Plastics ,
Settlement ,
State Implementation Plans (SIPs)
Policy debates normally focus on substance. Is climate change real? How can business entities weigh environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors into their decision-making?
...more
3/25/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Appeals ,
Biden Administration ,
Climate Change ,
Declaratory Judgments ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Injunctions ,
New Rules ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Supremacy Clause
A Texas federal judge recently permitted an environmental, social, and governance- (ESG) related Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) case filed by an airline pilot against his employer and its benefits plan to...more
3/5/2024
/ 401k ,
American Airlines ,
Breach of Duty ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Management ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Proxy Voting ,
Risk Management ,
Shareholder Activism ,
Sustainability
The Biden Administration’s embrace of a “whole of government” approach to address environmental justice (EJ) issues occasioned litigation across the country.
One of the hottest series of disputes has been the tag-team...more
The Biden Administration’s efforts to address environmental justice (EJ) concerns continue. This month, US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced modifications to EPA’s Equity Action Plan....more
As we move into 2024, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) concepts continue to feature prominently in policy debates. While ESG still drives policy, the last year has seen “ESG” factors recast from being perceived as...more
2023 was a pivotal year for the beverage and food industry globally, creating new categories of winners and losers across the board. With a full year of operations largely relieved of pandemic-era restrictions, restaurant...more
2/15/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Beverage Manufacturers ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
Estate Planning ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Investors ,
Mergers ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Ransomware ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Social Media ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
Historically, regulations under the federal Clean Air Act (CAA) and related state laws divided the world into “stationary” and “non-stationary sources.” “Stationary sources” included facilities like power plants and factories...more
2/7/2024
/ Clean Air Act ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Motor Vehicles ,
National Emissions Standards ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Warehouses
Environmental justice (EJ) issues continue to feature prominently in national headlines in 2024. Below, we unpack two Louisiana EJ-focused court decisions and outline seven takeaways for the regulated community....more