In late September, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (Commission or CFTC) approved final guidance regarding the listing of voluntary carbon credit (VCC) derivative contracts on CFTC-regulated designated contract markets (Final Guidance). Commission observers had anticipated issuance of the Final Guidance for several months, as it follows proposed guidance issued by CFTC in December 2023. The Final Guidance also follows the Biden Administration’s Joint Policy Statement on Voluntary Carbon Market Principles, discussed in our post earlier this year. The Final Guidance, while applicable to derivative (or futures) contracts, represents the first official action by a U.S. regulator to help validate the integrity of the VCCs underlying such contracts. In this vein, as the derivative contract and underlying VCC markets continue to expand and evolve, the Final Guidance may represent an integrity backstop of sorts for U.S. VCC market participants.
When Defending Against an Adversary Proceeding in Bankruptcy Court, the Absence of Minimum Contacts with the Forum State Does Not Matter
Out-of-state defendants are sometimes surprised to learn that their lack of minimum contacts with the forum state is irrelevant if the lawsuit against them is filed as an adversary proceeding in a federal bankruptcy court. For example, a company or individual that has minimum contacts with the United States as a whole, but not with
Nov. 13 EVENT | 2024 National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) Manufacturing Legal Summit
The third annual National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) Manufacturing Legal Summit is the preeminent conference for manufacturing lawyers addressing the latest pressing challenges across the legal and regulatory landscape. Featured topics at this year’s conference will include:
- Managing PFAS and related greenwashing issues
- ESG and supply chain integrity
- Labor law
- FTC trends and enforcement priorities
CEQA Legislative Fix For State Capitol Renovation Upheld, All Work Performed Exempt
In Save Our Capitol! v. Dept. of Gen Servs. (2024) 105 Cal.App.5th 828—the third appeal challenging renovations and additions to the State Capitol (Project) under CEQA—the Third District Court of Appeal rejected petitioner’s challenges to the revised EIR for the Project on the grounds that newly enacted Senate Bill No. 174 (2023-2024 Reg. Sess.) (SB
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—November 5, 2024
Pesticides/Herbicides: Massachusetts State Court Grants Summary Judgment for Monsanto on FIFRA Preemption
On October 21, 2024, the Essex County Superior Court of Massachusetts issued a memorandum and order granting summary judgment to Monsanto/Bayer on the issue of preemption, finding that the plaintiff’s state law failure to warn claim was preempted by the labeling requirements of
Down Another CEQA “Rabbit Hole”: Second District Upholds Project Description in Los Angeles County’s EIR For North Area General Plan and Zoning Update Against “Retroactive Instability” Challenge Based On Minor Change In Adopted Zoning Prohibiting New Vineyards; But Applies New Subjective Test De Novo and Outside Established Analytic Framework for Recirculation Challenges
“It’s like déjà vu all over again.”Yogi Berra
In a (mostly) published opinion filed October 24, 2024, the Second District Court of Appeal (Div. 2) affirmed the trial court’s judgment denying a writ petition in a CEQA action challenging the County of Los Angeles’ (County) adoption of a comprehensive update to its North Area Plan (NAP) and Community Standards District (CSD), the general plan and zoning provisions governing the 21,000-acre Santa Monica Mountains North Area, one of County’s “most significant ecological and scenic resources.” The Court rejected a vintner’s attack on the FEIR’s project description based on the legal theory that it was “retroactively render[ed] ‘unstable’” by County’s adoption of zoning containing a complete prohibition of new vineyards in the North Area, whereas the zoning standards described in the EIR merely “heavily regulated” vineyards. John M. Gooden v. County of Los Angeles, et al. (2024) 106 Cal. App. 5th 1. While the opinion undoubtedly reached a correct result, it did so through problematic reasoning; it announced an ostensibly new and subjective standard to be applied on de novo review to certain EIR project description challenges—i.e., those based on an approved project’s “deviation” from the EIR’s project description—that will foreseeably prove problematic in its application in future cases.
Common Issues with Maturing Mineral Leases
Mineral Leases in Louisiana are typically granted for a stipulated length of time, known as the primary term, and for so long thereafter as production in paying quantities continues. As production commences and a mineral lease is extended beyond its primary term, various common issues often arise, many of which are briefly discussed below:
Lease
Legal Pushback on Offshore Wind: Ocean City and Fenwick Island Sue Feds
Lawsuit to Reverse Offshore Wind Approval
Erick Hernández Gallego Collaborates in ICC report, ‘Putting the Circular Economy in Motion: From Barriers to Opportunities’
Erick Hernández Gallego, co-chair of the Mexico City Energy & Natural Resources Practice and chair of the Mexico City Environmental Practice of global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP, collaborated with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and global management firm EY on the publication of the report “Putting the Circular Economy in
PODCAST | Greenwashing: Navigating Corporate Sustainability
GT Shareholders Chris Bell and Laura Hammargren were featured on an Innovation Research Exchange Podcast episode titled “Greenwashing: Navigating Corporate Sustainability.” They discuss the issue of greenwashing in corporate sustainability efforts, exploring what greenwashing is, the legal and reputational risks it poses, and the strategies businesses can adopt to avoid misleading eco-friendly claims.
Click here to listen