Last week, the Trump Administration's FTC and DOJ (Antitrust Division) filed a statement of interest in support of a lawsuit filed last November by eleven Republican state attorneys-general against three major asset managers...more
Earlier this year, each of the major US banks announced their withdrawal from the Net Zero Banking Alliance. This move, which was likely undertaken in response to the policy priorities of the Trump Administration, was...more
A local state court in Pennsylvania recently dismissed an array of climate tort claims brought against major fossil fuel companies by a local government--in this case, Bucks County. Among the three dozen or so climate tort...more
SEC Commissioner Uyeda, one of the Republican appointees to the Securities & Exchange Commission, recently stated (in remarks at the 2025 “SEC Speaks” Conference) that the SEC should not rescind the climate disclosure rule...more
On May 12, 2025, in a 5-2 decision, the Colorado Supreme Court held that the tort claims brought by local governments in Colorado against major fossil fuel companies concerning damages stemming from climate change could...more
Federal Regulation On April 8, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order that sought to target actions undertaken by individual US states to combat climate change, for the stated purpose of ensuring “American energy...more
Recently, both the State of Hawaii and the State of Michigan had announced that they would be pursuing litigation against fossil fuel companies concerning alleged damages stemming from the companies' contribution to climate...more
5/5/2025
/ Climate Change ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Executive Orders ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Preemption ,
State and Local Government ,
Trump Administration
On April 24, 2025, the Eighth Circuit ordered that the litigation over the validity of the SEC's climate disclosure rule be “held in abeyance.” This order was in response to a submission by a coalition of blue states that...more
Earlier this month, President Trump issued an executive order that sought to target actions undertaken by individual U.S. states to combat climate change, for the stated purpose of ensuring “American energy dominance.”...more
On March 27, 2025, as expected, the SEC under the Trump administration abandoned the climate disclosure rule promulgated by the Biden administration, specifically stating in a court filing that it would no longer defend the...more
As expected, the SEC under the Trump Administration has abandoned the climate disclosure rule promulgated by the Biden Administration. Specifically, as stated in a court filing today, “the Commission has determined that it...more
3/28/2025
/ Appeals ,
Biden Administration ,
Climate Change ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Final Rules ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trump Administration
The Trump administration’s SEC has begun the process of undoing the mandatory climate disclosure rule promulgated by the SEC under the Biden administration. Specifically, the SEC has now asked the Eighth Circuit — where the...more
On February 18, 2025, Judge Bloom (S.D. Fla.) dismissed a lawsuit against Lululemon, the athleisure company, that centered upon allegations of greenwashing. Specifically, the plaintiffs here had contended “that Lululemon...more
2/25/2025
/ Class Action ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Greenwashing ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Standing ,
Sustainability ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
In December 2024, the State of New York enacted the “Climate Change Superfund Act,” which would impose retroactive fines on fossil fuel producers for greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. (New York was...more
4 Last week, a federal district judge in the Northern District of Texas upheld a rule promulgated by the Biden Administration's Department of Labor enabling ESG-focused investing. Specifically, the court determined that the...more
In June 2023, Mintz published an article entitled “A Quantitative Analysis of Comment Letters Issued by the SEC Concerning Climate Change Disclosures” (the June 2023 Article), which analyzed the comment letters related to...more
2/20/2025
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
EDGAR ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenwashing ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sustainability
In a development that could hardly be termed unexpected, the Trump Administration SEC has begun the process of unraveling the climate disclosure rule promulgated by the SEC under the Biden Administration. Specifically, the...more
Over the past several weeks, each of the major US banks have announced their withdrawal from the Net Zero Banking Alliance (presumably in response to the policy priorities of the second Trump Administration). Although...more
Following a bench trial, on January 10, 2025, Judge Reed O’Connor of the US District Court of the Northern District of Texas held that the managers of a company’s 401(k) retirement plans had breached their fiduciary duty by...more
Judge Wright (C.D. Cal.) has significantly narrowed the Chamber of Commerce's lawsuit challenging California's climate disclosure laws. (These disclosure laws mandate disclosure of Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 greenhouse...more
2/7/2025
/ California ,
Chamber of Commerce ,
Climate Change ,
Compliance ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
First Amendment ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Interstate Commerce ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
Supremacy Clause
Following a bench trial, Judge O'Connor (N.D. Tex.) held that “that Defendants breached their fiduciary duty by failing to loyally act solely in the retirement plan's best financial interests by allowing their corporate...more
1/13/2025
/ 401k ,
BlackRock ,
Breach of Duty ,
Corporate Governance ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment ,
Investment Management ,
Retirement Plan ,
Sustainability
Regulatory Updates -
There have been a couple of noteworthy developments in recent weeks concerning the mandatory climate disclosure regime enacted by California. These developments relate to SB 253 and SB 261, which...more
1/8/2025
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
California ,
Climate Change ,
Damages ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Montana ,
State Attorneys General ,
Sustainability
On December 18, 2024, the Montana Supreme Court issued a ruling upholding a lower state court's decision that, under Montana's constitution, there is a “fundamental constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment...more
On November 19, 2024, the EU Council adopted a new regulation on ESG ratings, which “aim[s] at making rating activities in the EU more consistent, transparent, and comparable in order to boost investors' confidence in...more
On December 16, 2024, the California Air Resources Board--the regulatory agency responsible for implementing California's mandatory climate disclosure regime--solicited public feedback concerning the design of the regulation....more