Page 26 - Dc Circuit News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Monday, February 8, 2021 As the D.C. District Court in  Wengui v. Clark Hill recently commented, “[m]alicious cyberattacks have unfortunately become a routine part of our modern digital world. So have the lawsuits that follow them….” The court’s decision in that case has added another data point to developing jurisprudence of the cyberattack landscape, specifically concerning the discoverability of post-breach forensics reports. A former client of the Clark Hill law firm sued the firm for failing to protect his confidential information after a hacker stole the client’s d...

On January 19, 2021, the D.C. Circuit vacated the Affordable Clean Energy ACE rule, the Trump Administration’s action to address CO2 emissions from existing coal-fired power plants

Wednesday, February 3, 2021 The D.C. Circuit on January 19, 2021, vacated the Trump administration’s Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) regulation (2019).  Am. Lung Ass’n v. EPA, 2021 WL 162579 (D.C. Cir. Jan. 19, 2021). The ACE rule had replaced the Obama-era 2015 Clean Power Plan (CPP) rule. The two regulations reflected different plans for greenhouse gas (GHG) regulation under the Clean Air Act (CAA). Multiple petitions for review of the ACE rule were filed. Under the CAA, specifically 42 U.S.C. § 7411, “standards of performance” for certain existing sources of air pollution...

Wednesday, January 27, 2021 According to a recent decision in  United States ex rel. Scollick v. Narula, Case No. 14-cv-1339 (D.D.C. Nov. 6, 2020), the fraudulent inducement theory of False Claims Act (“FCA”) liability does not require plaintiffs to satisfy the “demanding” materiality standard set forth in  Universal Health Services, Inc. v.  United States ex rel. Escobar, 136 S. Ct. 1989 (2016).  Though that may sound like good news for plaintiffs, it is not.  The fraudulent inducement theory holds that fraud in a contractor’s proposal can taint every claim for payme...

Monday, January 25, 2021 On January 19, the D.C. Circuit vacated the Affordable Clean Energy Rule (ACE), a rule intended to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions emitted from power plants.  Am. Lung Ass’n et al. v. EPA, No. 19-1140. The lengthy opinion touches on numerous issues raised over the last 10 years as EPA has bumped toward the goal of regulating greenhouse gases. The opinion appears to be grounded in EPA’s own assertions, made in this and other rulemakings, that climate change is a grave threat to society and power plants are a significant source of GHGs. The Trump a...