On-Demand Webinar | Regulatory Uncertainty and Linear Infrastructure Projects: Where Are We and What’s Ahead?
On-Demand Webinar | Linear Infrastructure Redux: Adapting Your Projects to Meet the New Regulatory Climate
The Biden administration has signaled its intention to recriminalize non-purposeful, or incidental, “takes” of birds under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (“MBTA”). The longstanding debate over the scope of criminal liability...more
On April 13, 2018, the Washington Post published an article entitled “The Trump administration has officially clipped the wings of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.” The Article correctly notes that the United States Fish and...more
In a legal memorandum (the “Jorjani Memo”) issued on December 22, 2017, the U.S. Department of the Interior (“DOI”) concluded that the MBTA’s prohibition of taking migratory birds only applies to intentional take and does not...more
• The Opinion finds that the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) prohibits only affirmative and purposeful actions to take migratory birds. Incidental takes that are not the purpose of an action, even if they are direct and...more
Recently, industry won a major legal victory regarding liability—or lack thereof—for unintentional and indirect bird deaths under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). Unfortunately, that victory could be short lived,...more
The U.S. Court of the Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently ruled that the criminal prohibition on killing or injuring birds under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (“MBTA”) “only prohibits intentional acts (not omissions) that...more
The US Department of Justice has issued a memorandum to all of its prosecuting Divisions, directing changes to the principles applied by DOJ in prosecuting civilly or criminally individuals who engage in corporate misconduct....more
On September 4, 2015, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the misdemeanor convictions of Citgo Petroleum Corporation and Citgo Refining and Chemicals Company, L.P. (collectively Citgo) for “taking” migratory birds in...more
For years, Federal Courts have held that individuals can be held criminally liable under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) for the death of birds regardless of whether they intended to harm them. While several courts have...more