+ It’s a fight over state vs. federal court.

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The Daily Docket

The Daily Docket

A newsletter by Reuters and Westlaw

 

By Caitlin Tremblay

Good morning. Today the U.S. Supreme Court will take up a case seeking to hold oil companies liable for coastal erosion in Louisiana. Plus, a federal judge in D.C. will hear a dispute over the Trump administration’s suspension of a $5 billion offshore wind project; and U.S. legal jobs hit a new high. A couple had their marriage annulled after the person officiating used a ChatGPT-generated speech. Error 404: Weekend not found. Initializing Monday. Let’s get going.

 

U.S. Supreme Court to hear Chevron, Exxon appeal over Louisiana coastal damage

 

REUTERS/Kaylee Greenlee

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a dispute seeking to hold Chevron, Exxon Mobil and other oil and gas companies liable for damaging Louisiana's coast.

Why it matters: The justices will consider the question of how and why a federal contractor can transfer a case from state to federal court. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has recused himself from the case.

Context: The lower court rejected the oil companies’ claims that the lawsuits belong in federal court because the Louisiana parishes of Plaquemines and Cameron were suing over oil production activities undertaken to fulfill U.S. government refinery contracts during WWII. Federal court is considered a friendlier venue for businesses in such litigation. Read more about that here.

Who: Paul Clement for Chevron; Aaron Roper, assistant to the Solicitor General for the U.S. as amicus curiae; Louisiana Solicitor General J. Benjamin Aguiñaga for the parishes.

 

Coming up today

  • SCOTUS: The U.S. Supreme Court will also issue orders in pending cases today at 9:30 a.m. ET.
  • Attorney conduct: Prominent lawyer Tom Goldstein will stand trial this week on allegations by federal prosecutors that he filed false tax returns by failing to report millions of dollars he won in poker games, lied on mortgage applications and made improper payments through his law firm Goldstein & Russell to fund a lavish lifestyle. Jury selection begins today.
  • Labor: The 9th Circuit will hear arguments in a lawsuit challenging President Trump’s March executive order which stripped numerous federal agencies and divisions of collective bargaining rights. Read the preliminary injunction.
  • Environment: U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth in D.C. will consider Orsted's request for a preliminary injunction that would allow the company to resume construction on its Revolution Wind project off the coast of New England.
  • Health: U.S. District Judge Brian Young in Boston will hold a status conference in a lawsuit by physicians groups against U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Department of Health and Human Services arguing that current policies on COVID-19 vaccines pose an imminent threat to public health.

Court calendars are subject to last-minute docket changes.

 

More top news

  • Judge blocks Trump from freezing $10 billion in child, family aid to five U.S. states
  • New York sues Trump administration over pause on two offshore wind projects
  • Under court order, Trump administration agrees to fund beleaguered consumer financial watchdog
 
 

Industry insight

  • A law professor and a law student who sued their universities last year both faced court setbacks in cases involving U.S. campus free speech rights.
  • Paul Hastings hired its second partner in a week from Cravath. John Buretta, chair of Cravath’s investigations and regulatory enforcement practice, will co-chair his new firm’s litigation department.
  • Moves: Derivatives and structured finance partner Patrick Clancy moved to Sullivan & Cromwell from A&O Shearman … Armstrong Teasdale brought on partner Paul Parisi from Jackson Lewis for its employment practice.
  • New partners: Honigman elected eight to partner … Keker, Van Nest & Peters promoted three to partner.
 

1,208,100

That’s the record-breaking number of the total legal sector jobs last month, according to data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Find out more.

 

In the courts

  • The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a case over FCC fines against major wireless carriers for sharing customer location data without consent, the latest challenge to a federal agency’s authority.
  • The Supreme Court also agreed to hear an appeal by Cisco Systems in which the company and the Trump administration seek to limit the reach of a federal law used to hold corporations liable for human rights abuses committed abroad. 
  • Elon Musk’s X Corp sued 18 major music publishers and a leading U.S. music industry trade association, alleging they conspired to block competition and force the social media platform to purchase licenses for musical works at inflated rates. Read the complaint.
  • U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani said on Friday she will block the Trump administration from cutting short the temporary legal status granted to at least 10,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras that allowed them to reunite with family members in the United States.
  • Agri Stats agreed to settle a federal antitrust class action alleging the agricultural data company conspired with major red meat processors to suppress U.S. worker wages at plants across the country. Read the proposed settlement.
 

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