Legal Pad

Wal-Mart to Pay $26.7M For Mess

[Cynthia Foster]

Discount store super-giant Wal-Mart has agreed to pay California almost $28 million to settle an environmental regulations case.

The San Diego County DA and the attorney general's office alleged that Wal-Mart and its Sam's Club stores were illegally transporting chemicals, fertilizer and motor oil, endangering city streets and highways across the state.

From the LA Times:

The settlement includes $20 million to be split among prosecutors in 20 jurisdictions and 32 environmental health agencies throughout the state; $1.6 million in costs for the investigation; $3 million to a fund for other environmental investigations; and $3 million toward keeping stores in compliance.

The settlement ended a five-year investigation. A similar investigation may be pending against big box-rival Target.

State Supreme Court Gets a New Bag

[Greg Mitchell]

The California Supreme Court will decide if cities must conduct an environmental study before banning  plastic shopping bags. In January, a Second District panel sided with an industry group on a 2-1 vote, saying the city of Manhattan Beach should have first determined the environmental impact of using more paper shopping bags. 

The Save the Plastic Bag Coalition says that paper bags take more energy to manufacture and transport. The S.F. Chronicle story quotes Coalition attorney Stephen Joseph, who wants the high court's ruling to show that "cities and counties shouldn't believe everything they hear from environmental groups."

Judge Rambles Musingly, Hands Victory to Meyers Nave Land Use Lawyer

[Kate Moser]

Take a guess – is this a spiritual observation or lesson in wavelengths? “A rock dropped into a smooth pond can cause ripples on distant shores.”

Neither! It’s an Environmental Impact Report observation by Orange County Superior Court Judge Ronald Bauer, part of his recent written order (.pdf) rejecting the City of Riverside’s attempt to stop an expansion project at the Port of Los Angeles – a victory for Meyers Nave attorney Amrit Kulkarni.

Energy Lawyer: Closing Solar Deals is the Hip Thing

Twenty years ago, if Orrick’s Les Sherman was at a cocktail party and told people he was an energy lawyer who works on power contracts, their eyes would glaze over.

Lately, he feels a bit more hip.

“Now, if I say I represent renewable energy companies, people are intrigued,” Sherman said. “They want to know more.”

Sherman just wrapped up a contract between First Solar Inc. and Southern California Edison to build two solar power projects that will produce a combined 550 megawatts, or enough power for 170,000 homes.

“Did we include the volcano clause?” — after the jump.

Eco-Law Brings Houston Boutique to Sacramento

Attorney John Thomas landed slightly jet-lagged in Houston this evening. He had spent a week in San Francisco, preparing for trial at the Superior Court. The co-founder of Houston-based litigation firm Hicks Thomas says he has spent more time in Northern California in the past couple of years than in Texas.

With 18 lawyers, Hicks Thomas' litigation practice includes energy, environmental, and toxic torts law and serves clients like Kinder Morgan, Dynegy Inc. and Shell Chemical. Its lawyers handle both the defense and plaintiffs’ side of cases, Thomas said.

More and more, his firm clients have had to defend themselves in court here. That’s why it made sense to open an office in the neighborhood. Hicks Thomas announced this fall the opening of a Sacramento outpost, the first outside of Houston since the firm was founded in 1997.

It’s not just relief from Houston’s blistering summers that has the firm opening here — Sacramento’s no picnic in August, either. But California’s ever-increasing importance in environmental law gives it an irresistible attraction.