The Shale Gas Subcommittee of the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board (the Subcommittee) released its second and final report on hydraulic fracturing on November 10, 2011.

On September 7, 2011, an intermediate appellate court of Pennsylvania (Superior Court) issued an opinion in Butler v. Powers regarding the meaning of a deed from 1881 that questioned traditional views in Pennsylvania of how ownership of shale gas is determined in that state.

Securities Litigation Insights is a periodic report concerning recent developments, issues, and matters of interest in securities litigation and regulation.

Pursuant to Pub. L. No. 111-349 (known as the "Patent Pilot Program"), the Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts recently selected 14 federal district courts to participate in a 10-year pilot project designed to enhance expertise in patent cases among U.S. district judges.

On August 16, 2012, the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice filed a complaint and entered into a proposed settlement with Verizon Communications Inc.

Last week, the press reported on a recent series of investigations undertaken by the New York Attorney General’s Office to scrutinize private equity firms’ use of "management fee waivers."

On July 30, 2012, the Federal Circuit issued an opinion on remand in the Novo Nordisk v. Caraco Pharm. Labs case holding that injunctions issued to correct use codes cannot specify the particular use codes and descriptions to be listed in the FDA’s Orange Book.

The U.S. Federal Circuit issued an opinion yesterday that has important implications for the patentability of software claims — particularly software claims drafted in Beauregard form. Cybersource Corp. v. Retail Decisions, Inc., No. 2009-1358 (Fed. Cir. Aug. 16, 2011).

Modern history has suggested that Africa, and in particular sub-Saharan Africa, has frequently been fed, subsidised and supported by the stronger economies of the US, Europe and Asia.

In the August 2011 issue of Antitrust News & Notes, we reported on the district court decision in Federal Trade Commission v. Phoebe Putney Health System,1 a case in which a U.S. district court found that an alleged merger-to-monopoly involving a Georgia hospital authority facility and a nearby for-profit hospital was immune from antitrust scrutiny based on the state action doctrine.

Recent Federal Trade Commission (FTC) complaints against a swimming pool products distributor and, separately, three ductile iron pipe fittings (DIPF) suppliers highlight the FTC’s appetite to challenge supply and distribution practices using its Section 5 authority.

The Supreme Court will address the scope of "state action" antitrust immunity as applied to a Federal Trade Commission.

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 imposes a new regulatory framework upon swap dealers, major swap participants and other counterparties to swaps, including end-users.

A report concerning recent developments, issues, and matters of interest in securities litigation and regulation.

Effective March 8, 2013, all employers covered by the Family Medical Leave Act are subject to the United States Department of Labor’s recently issued Final Rule that expands the FMLA’s military caregiver and qualifying exigency leave provisions.

The U.S. Supreme Court today heard oral argument in Sackett v. EPA, involving the availability of judicial review of EPA compliance orders. Although oral argument is an uncertain predictor of outcomes, indications from today’s argument suggest the Justices will likely rule for the property owners, holding that the compliance order in the case is final and that the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) permits pre-enforcement review of it.

Senator Christopher Coons (D-DE) has reintroduced the Master Limited Partnerships Parity Act, which would provide MLP tax treatment for renewable energy projects.

On August 22, 2011, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) issued an emergency rule outlining several new requirements governing the development of horizontal wells in the Marcellus Shale.

On September 28, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia struck down a new position limit rule that the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) had promulgated in response to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank).