News & Analysis as of

Fiduciary Duty Environmental Social & Governance (ESG)

Nossaman LLP

Relying on Loper, Fifth Circuit Sends Chevron-based decision Back to District Court, calling ESG Rule into Question

Nossaman LLP on

On July 18, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (“Fifth Circuit”) vacated a decision by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas (“District Court”) that upheld the U.S. Department of Labor’s...more

Goodwin

Minding the Store: Unanticipated ESG Issues Affecting ERISA Fiduciary Supervision

Goodwin on

A recent summary judgment decision from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas in an ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act) class action challenging the alleged impact of environmental, social,...more

Mintz - Energy & Sustainability Viewpoints

Energy & Sustainability Litigation Updates — July 2024

On June 4, 2024, a number of Congressional Democrats (10 Senators; 28 Congressmen) sent a letter to SEC Chairman Gensler, urging that the SEC “enforce existing SEC climate disclosure-related guidance” while the legal...more

Mayer Brown

Northern District of Texas Expands Fiduciary Exposure by Permitting ESG Proxy Voting Theory to Go to Trial

Mayer Brown on

Case Name and Number: Spence v. American Airlines, Inc., et al., No. 4:23-cv-00552 - INTRODUCTION - On June 20, 2024, Judge Reed O’Connor in the Northern District of Texas (the “court”) denied a motion for summary...more

ArentFox Schiff

ESG Update: Two Court Decisions Highlight the Importance of the “G” in “ESG”

ArentFox Schiff on

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

Mintz

Federal Judge Certifies Class Objecting to ESG Investments by Retirement Fund

Mintz on

On May 22, 2024, Judge O'Connor (N.D. Tex.) ordered that the plaintiffs claiming that investment managers breached their fiduciary duty due to their ESG-focused investing be certified as a class for purposes of the...more

Mintz

Oklahoma Judge Temporarily Blocks Law Penalizing Companies Engaged in Fossil Fuel Boycott

Mintz on

Earlier this week, a state court judge in Oklahoma issued a temporary restraining order that blocks--for now--enforcement of an Oklahoma law that deprives companies deemed to boycott the fossil fuel industry of the ability to...more

Foley Hoag LLP - White Collar Law &...

Tennessee v. BlackRock: How this Case Informs How We Look Back and Look Ahead at ESG

This is the final post in our 2024 Year in Preview series examining important trends in white collar law and investigations in the coming year... Politicians in Republican-led states have painted a target on environmental,...more

Paul Hastings LLP

Pecuniary vs. Nonpecuniary Factors: Understanding the Potential Scope of Anti-ESG Restrictions in U.S. State Laws

Paul Hastings LLP on

Executive Summary and Overview- State anti-ESG lawmakers have enacted legislation aimed at restricting investors from considering ESG factors in their investment strategies and decisions by requiring state financial...more

Proskauer - The Capital Commitment

ESG in 2024: Traps for the Unwary

ESG continues to be a hot topic for 2024 for investors and regulators alike. The specific concerns investors and regulators have – and what they expect to develop over the coming months – differ, however, across...more

Warner Norcross + Judd

Hot Topics for Private Clients and Family Offices from the 2024 Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning – Part Two

Warner Norcross + Judd on

In our previous blog post on the 2024 Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, we highlighted some of the concepts and cases related to valuation that were discussed at the conference. In this second post, we share some of...more

Mintz

Texas Court Rules ESG Lawsuit Against Employer's 401(k) Plan Can Proceed

Mintz on

Recently, a Texas federal court denied the defendants' motion to dismiss in a lawsuit featuring allegations that an employer's 401(k) plan, which allegedly relied on ESG principles when making investments, violated ERISA. ...more

Morgan Lewis

ESG Investing: The US Regulatory Perspective

Morgan Lewis on

As companies increasingly encounter dialogue regarding environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors, they and their investors and other stakeholders face the task of navigating the sometimes-contradictory web of...more

Mayer Brown

Decision Alert: Northern District of Texas Expands Fiduciary Liability To Cover Non-ESG Fund Managers’ ESG-Related Conduct

Mayer Brown on

Case Name and Number: Spence v. American Airlines, Inc., et al., No. 4:23-cv-00552 - Introduction - On February 21, 2024, Judge Reed O’Connor in the Northern District of Texas (the “Court”) denied a motion to dismiss an...more

ArentFox Schiff

Airline 401k Decision Illustrates Continued Takeoff of ESG Litigation

ArentFox Schiff on

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

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

2023 Delaware Corporate Law and Litigation Year in Review

Wilson Sonsini is pleased to present the 2023 Delaware Corporate Law and Litigation Year In Review. In 2023, the Delaware courts issued many decisions addressing an array of important topics, including director and officer...more

Allen Matkins

Is "Degrowth" About To Grow?

Allen Matkins on

In reason years, many companies and some investors have embraced ESG (environmental, social and governance) objectives.  The move to embrace ESG has led to an "escalating backlash" according to The Conference Board.   Now,...more

Mintz

New Hampshire Legislators Propose Laws to Criminalize Investing Based on ESG Criteria

Mintz on

Recently, a pair of bills were proposed in the New Hampshire state legislature that would make it a felony to knowingly invest state or taxpayer funds based upon ESG criteria in violation of fiduciary duty. Specifically, the...more

Morgan Lewis

The ESG Investing Debate: 2023 Year-end Updates

Morgan Lewis on

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing has been subject to increased US state and federal regulation over the last several years, and 2023 continued that status quo. As of January 1, 2024, 20 states have...more

Mintz - Energy & Sustainability Viewpoints

Energy & Sustainability Litigation Updates - January 2024

Federal Regulatory Developments - In a recent filing with the Office of Management and Budget, the Securities & Exchange Commission disclosed that the vote by the SEC Commissioners as to whether to issue the SEC’s...more

Dechert LLP

Delaware Books and Records Demands in 2023: Protections and Pitfalls for Companies

Dechert LLP on

The past year saw significant developments in the Delaware courts for books and records inspection demands pursuant to Section 220. In a first-of-its-kind decision, the Court rejected an inspection demand as lacking a...more

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

Texas Federal Judge: DOL ESG Investing Rule Does Not Violate ERISA

On September 21, 2023, a Texas federal court dismissed an action commenced by more than two dozen Republican state attorneys general challenging a 2022 Department of Labor (DOL) Rule that addressed consideration of ESG...more

Cozen O'Connor

Republican AGs Appeal to the Fifth Circuit on Labor Department’s ESG Investment Rule

Cozen O'Connor on

A coalition of 25 Republican AGs filed an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in their lawsuit against the Department of Labor that challenges the implementation of a rule permitting retirement plan...more

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

American Airlines Moves to Dismiss Suit Challenging Inclusion of ESG Funds in Retirement Plan

In August 2023, American Airlines, Inc. moved to dismiss a class action lawsuit filed against the airline for allegedly jeopardizing employees’ retirement savings by investing in environmental, social and governance (ESG)...more

Harris Beach PLLC

SEC Examination Priorities for 2024

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The United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Examinations announced its examination priorities for fiscal year 2024 on October 16, 2023. The timing of the announcement is significant because it is the...more

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