ABA Journal

Transportation & Energy Issues

114 ABA Journal Transportation & Energy Issues articles.

Exxon can’t use ‘right of petition’ law to block climate change suit, top state court rules

The top court in Massachusetts on Tuesday refused to dismiss a lawsuit contending that the Exxon Mobil Corp. misled consumers and investors about the impact of climate change.

Weekly Briefs: Prof gets $400K settlement in pronoun case; panic-attack firing leads to $450K verdict

Prof who refused to use preferred pronouns gets $400K settlement

Shawnee State University in Ohio has agreed to pay philosophy professor Nicholas Meriwether $400,000 and to rescind a written warning…

Judge Neil Axel uses DUI court experience to tackle traffic safety

Judge Neil Axel works with the ABA’s Judicial Outreach Liaison and Judicial Fellows Program. As one of its two judicial fellows, Axel helps educate judges nationwide on issues involving impaired driving offenses, including drug-impaired driving; evidence-based sentencing practices to reduce recidivism; and the impact of the legalization of marijuana on highway safety. He also works closely with the program’s nine regional JOLs and 22 state JOLs, all of whom provide training and support on impaired driving and other highway safety issues to courts in their areas.

Costly Collisions: A small-town personal injury case sends a powerful message to the trucking industry

The number of crashes involving large trucks has been rising during the past decade. And as the number of crashes has increased, so has the size of jury awards and settlements, often resulting in what some lawyers call “nuclear verdicts”—multimillion-dollar damages verdicts significantly higher than expected given the injuries in the case, generally in excess of $10 million.

Judge tosses 238 oil-spill cases, citing law firm’s failure to respond to discovery requests

A federal judge in Pensacola, Florida, has dismissed 238 cases filed for cleanup workers who blame their medical problems on the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Afternoon Briefs: Multistate suit challenges coronavirus relief provision; Crowell combines with boutique

Lawsuit challenges tax provision in COVID-19 relief bill

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has filed a lawsuit challenging a tax provision in the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. The provision…

Suits multiply over Texas power outages; is power grid operator protected by sovereign immunity?

Lawsuits are already being filed against the operator of the power grid in Texas over lost lives, property damage and business interruption caused by power outages during the winter storm in February.

Afternoon Briefs: Trump seeks to intervene in SCOTUS election case; new LA district attorney touts reforms

Trump seeks to intervene in Supreme Court election case

President Donald Trump on Wednesday sought to intervene as a plaintiff in Texas’ bid to get the U.S. Supreme Court…

Afternoon Briefs: BigLaw’s big bankruptcy bucks; polyamorous ties recognized

Some BigLaw firms will earn big bucks in retail bankruptcies

Several large law firms will likely earn millions of dollars representing retailers such as Neiman Marcus, J. Crew and J.C.…

Lawyers are unleashing a flurry of lawsuits to step up the fight against climate change

Traditionally relegated to the statutory realm of environmental and administrative law, a cadre of attorneys and legal scholars has given the climate change issue a creative facelift that may change the legal landscape—and, they say, could determine the fate of humanity.

Afternoon Briefs: Law school lost $1.6M to fraud; 3rd Circuit strikes down religious ad ban

Audit concludes financial wrongdoing cost law school $1.6M

The University of Texas School of Law has tightened its financial controls after an internal audit concluded that a former employee’s improprieties…

Afternoon Briefs: James Comey’s daughter prosecutes Epstein; cop accused of planting drugs in cars

A daughter of former FBI Director James Comey is one of the lead prosecutors in the federal sex trafficking case against billionaire Jeffrey Epstein. Maurene Comey is an assistant…

Tribe bans South Dakota governor from reservation over her support for laws targeting Keystone XL pipeline protests

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is no longer welcome on the Pine Ridge Reservation because of her support for anti-rioting laws passed in response to protests of the Keystone XL…

Fugitive lawyer is sentenced in $550M disability scheme; he is spotted in New Mexico

A lawyer who fled after pleading guilty in a $550 million disability fraud scheme has been sentenced in absentia to 12 years in prison, the maximum.

The lawyer, Eric…

Florida lawyer’s firm is dedicated to marine mammals

Natalie Barefoot might be one of the few lawyers who enthusiastically describes her work as fun. As executive director of Cet Law, Barefoot has channeled her passion for cetaceans—which include…

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