In the case of National Resources Defense Council , et al. , v. Illinois Power Resources, LLC and Illinois Power Resources Generating, LLC, decided August 23, 2016, the United States District Court for the Central of District of Illinois held that the defendants, who operate a coal-fired power plant in…
Recently, my colleagues Jennifer Jordan McCall, Kim Schoknecht and Elizabeth Fry published an alert titled Proposed Section 2704 Regulations that discusses proposed regulations that, if adopted, would affect the valuation of family-owned businesses interests transferred among family members by eliminating certain discounts currently recognized under the law. The U.S. Treasury Department…
On August 17, 2016, the Fourth District Court of Appeals sitting in San Antonio held, in a 2 to 1 decision, that a City of Laredo ordinance prohibiting the distribution of “single use” plastic bags at check-out counters in order to reduce litter was preempted by state law, namely, Section…
Lockheed Martin Corporation, one of the largest defense contractors in the United States, operated three California facilities that manufactured solid-propellant rockets for the United States Department of Defense pursuant to contracts subject to the Federal Acquisition Regulations. Substantial quantities of hazardous substances were released by the facilities over the years…
In Third Circuit defends challenge to its authority to rule in pipeline expansion project, I was provided with an opportunity to make the point that the states and the federal government are equal sovereigns under the Constitution, which often requires some careful balancing of interests.
In Center for Biological Diversity, et al., v. Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) did not violate the Endangered Species Act (ESA) when its analysis of plans to expand access for off-road vehicles in the Imperial…
An earlier case, decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on June 3, 2016, is noteworthy because it resulted in an opinion affirming the government’s use of the criminal restitution laws to require a defendant to pay EPA $10.4 million in restitution for EPA’s cleanup efforts.…
On August 11, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an opinion rejecting the ExxonMobil Pipeline Company’s request for a stay pending appeal of a Compliance Order issued by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) of the Department of Transportation. The case is ExxonMobil Pipeline Company v.…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has decided a new federalism case. In State of Tennessee, et al., v. Federal Communications Commission, decided on August 10, 2016, the Court of Appeals held that Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 does not authorize the Federal Communications…
Can the federal government at times and, in all places, commandeer the states to act in a certain way? “Commandeering” refers to a federal requirement that state officials enact, administer, or enforce a federal regulatory program. There are limits to the federal government’s constitutional authority to do so, which are…