New ESG regulations are expected to have a significant impact on disclosure and governance obligations for EU and non-EU companies alike, including extensive sustainability reporting and due diligence requirements on...more
On November 12, 2024, The Hague Court of Appeals overturned the landmark climate change litigation case that imposed a 45% CO2 reduction obligation on Shell....more
On Tuesday, oil and gas giant Shell won its appeal against a landmark 2021 court ruling that ordered the company to cut its absolute carbon emissions by 45% by 2030 compared to 2019 levels, including emissions caused by use...more
The city of Fresno announced this week that Shell USA, Dow Chemical, and other oil and chemical companies have agreed to pay the city $230 million to settle the city’s 2007 lawsuit against them for allegedly contaminating...more
ExxonMobil has filed proceedings in the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas against two shareholders, alleging that proposals seeking an increased pace for reductions in emissions amount to “intrusion” into...more
It is not uncommon for parties to agree that certain disputes should be referred to an expert for determination. However, when those disputes arise, the parties may disagree about the scope of the exercise to be carried out...more
The High Court has ordered that ClientEarth pay Shell’s costs in connection with all aspects of ClientEarth’s unsuccessful application for permission to continue a derivative claim against Shell and its directors. This is a...more
In a civil suit filed in Oregon state court in June 2023, an Oregon county is suing more than a dozen large oil, gas and coal companies, seeking more than $50 million in damages, in connection with a 2021 “heat dome” and...more
Introduction - On July 24, 2023, the High Court dismissed ClientEarth's application for permission to bring a shareholder derivative claim against Shell's directors (the "Board") for breach of directors' duties under the...more
The UK’s advertising watchdog, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), has banned recent advertisements by three oil and gas majors. The advertisements, by Shell, Repsol and Petronas were banned on the basis of...more
In February 2023 ClientEarth issued a derivative action against Shell’s 11 directors. ClientEarth alleged that the directors had breached their duties under the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006) by failing to adopt and implement...more
On May 12, 2023, the UK High Court dismissed a lawsuit filed by ClientEarth against Shell’s Board of Directors, finding that ClientEarth failed to establish a prima facie case against the Board for its management of climate...more
In a move that further cements Louisiana’s place as the 7th Ranked Judicial Hell Hole of 2023, the Court of Appeals of Louisiana affirmed a second 8-figure verdict of 2023 for a mesothelioma personal injury case in Strauder...more
On February 1, 2023, Global Witness – an international non-governmental organization – filed what it called a “groundbreaking greenwashing complaint” with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s Climate and ESG Task...more
The Rhode Island Attorney General (“Rhode Island”) announced that the office has resolved the State’s lawsuit against Shell, Sunoco, and CITGO (collectively “Defendants”) alleging soil and groundwater contamination with a...more
On 15 March 2022, ClientEarth announced that it had written to Shell's board of directors informing them of its intent to bring a claim on behalf of the company for the board's failure to implement a Paris Agreement compliant...more
ClientEarth, an environmental law organization, has filed a shareholder derivative lawsuit in the United Kingdom against Shell's board of directors for an alleged failure to adequately prepare Shell for the impact of climate...more
On September 15, 2021, the Dutch Advertising Code Committee ("ACC"), regulating compliance with the Dutch Environmental Advertising Code ("EAC") applicable to all environmental claims in advertising, issued two decisions...more
On September 10, 2021, the California Court of Appeal broadened the test for joint employment in California, lowering the bar for what constitutes sufficient control by business over its vendor’s employees’ wages and working...more
In Lexington Land Development LLC v. Chevron Pipeline Company et al, a Louisiana landowner’s suit for damages to land alleged to have been caused by oil and gas operations failed to survive exceptions of prescription and the...more
On May 26, 2021, a Dutch court ordered Royal Dutch Shell Plc (“Shell”) to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 45% (from 2019 levels) by 2030. Shell had previously pledged to reduce its emissions by 20% (from 2016 levels) by...more
Last month, the UK Supreme Court overturned the judgment of the Court of Appeal and allowed a claim for damages from claimants in the Niger Delta to proceed against Royal Dutch Shell plc and its local subsidiary Shell...more
The Court of Appeal has examined when a common law nuisance can be said to be “continuing” and therefore qualify for a more generous application of the limitation rules. The judgment is of relevance to landowners, developers,...more
The US District Court for the Central District of California issued an opinion on December 10 in the decades-long fight between the US Environmental Protection Agency and several oil companies over payment of the United...more
This roundup of recent environmental and regulatory law rulings and rulemakings includes an EPA deadline extended, a NEPA exclusion and PSM application upheld, and an unsuccessful appeal to the federal officer removal...more