- 5.12.10 Amy M. Smith
- 4.22.10 Kurt L. Krieger
FERC Seeks Public Comment on Penalty Guidelines
On April 15, 2010, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) announced that it will suspend and open to public comment the Policy Statement on Penalty Guidelines (Policy Statement), which FERC...
- 4.19.10 Diane Burke
DON’T MISS THE MARK: PROVIDING PROPER NOTICE OF PATENT RIGHTS
Benefits of Patent Marking
35 U.S.C. § 287 of the Patent Act provides that a patentee selling its invention may give notice to the public that the invention is patented by marking...
- 4.13.10 George Carenbauer & Eric Lycan
Responding to a request filed by Steptoe & Johnson on behalf of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance has advised that the First Amendment protects independent expenditures to advocate the election or defeat of...
- 4.13.10 James Mulhall
Any manufacturer, distributor or seller of products will want to pay close attention to how the West Virginia Supreme Court decides a case that will have important implications on product warranties. The Supreme Court is being asked whether a store can...
- 4.08.10 Kurt Krieger
FERC Holds First Workshop on New Penalty Guidelines - Emphasis on Company Compliance Programs
On April 7, 2010, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) held its first workshop on the new penalty guidelines that were issued in its March policy...
- 4.05.10 Greg Goodykoontz & Misty Heitz
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly: Medical Monitoring in WV
On Friday, March 26, 2010, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals decided the appeal of a nearly $400 million jury verdict rendered in Harrison County, West Virginia against the former...
- 3.31.10 Diane Burke
The Architectural Works Copyright Protection Act of 1990 provides protection for a constructed building or architectural plans, models or drawings as an architectural work. The work includes the overall form as well as the arrangement and composition of...
- 3.26.10 James J.A. Mulhall
West Virginia Court Amends Asbestos Case Management Order
The Case Management Order that applies to West Virginia asbestos cases has recently been revised to require plaintiffs to provide more details about the money they receive or are expected to...
- 3.26.10 Patricia Proctor
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Construes Statute to Allow Royalty Value Calculation at Wellhead
In an eagerly anticipated ruling issued yesterday, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has construed Pennsylvania’s Guaranteed Minimum Royalty Act (GMRA) to...
- 3.23.10 Daniel Kostrub
Pennsylvania Governor Approves Senate Bill 297 Establishing Marcellus Shale Production Reporting Requirements
After more than a year in the General Assembly of Pennsylvania, Senate Bill 297 was approved by Governor Rendell on March 22, 2010, which...
- 3.22.10 Sharon Flanery
TETCO Pipeline Gas Quality & Interchangeability Restrictions Effective April 1
Texas Eastern Transmission, LP (Texas Eastern), a wholly owned subsidiary of Spectra Energy Transmission, LLC, owns and operates an interstate natural gas transmission...
- 3.22.10
The complete Marcellus Shale Webinar Series is available for free download on Steptoe-Johnson.com. Click here to visit the energy webinar page for free PowerPoint presentations and video downloads.
- 3.05.10 Robert D. Pollitt
On February 12, 2010, the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia entered an order denying a motion by Loadout, LLC and Coal River Mining, LLC (Loadout) to stay the Court's previous Order of November 24, 2009 related to the...
- 3.05.10 Armando Benincasa
In a previous update, we told you about The West Virginia Legislature's consideration of a bill that would further regulate the natural gas industry. S.B. 643 would regulate public highway use by the industry as well as implement new permitting, training...
- 2.26.10 Kathy Milenkovski
SEC Issues Guidance Regarding Climate Change Disclosures Under Existing Rules
Regulation S-K provides the framework that publicly traded companies must follow when making disclosures and reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These...
- 2.24.10 James J.A. Mulhall
NIOSH ACCEPTS PUBLIC COMMENT ON REPORT CONCERNING ASBESTOS FIBERS AND NANO PARTICLES
The Federal Government continues to study occupational health issues related to asbestos fibers and other particles, including nano particles. (Nano particles are...
- 2.19.10 D. Eric Lycan
U.S. Chamber of Commerce Challenges EPA's Decision to Regulate Greenhouse Emissions
On February 12th, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed a formal petition in federal court challenging the authority of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to...
- 2.17.10 Armando Benincasa
The introduction of legislation relating to Marcellus Shale continued yesterday in West Virginia with House Bill 4513 by Delegates Manchin, Beach, Caputo, Fleischauer, Iaquinta, Longstreth, Mahan, Manypenny, Marshall, and Perdue. While the proposed...
- 2.10.10 Melanie Norris
Mine Fatalities Prompt MSHA Inquiry & Possible Regulations
Since 1983, there have been 31 fatalities involving Remote Control Continuous Mining Machines (RCCMs) that have pinned, crushed or struck RCCM operators or other miners working nearby....
- 2.05.10 Pat Kelly
After being appointed as a representative under a Medical Power of Attorney or as a Health Care Surrogate for an incapacitated patient, people appointed as the representative or surrogate often do not know what they can and cannot do. Our firm, in...
- 2.02.10 Marsha Hudkins
EPA Seeks Citizen Reports of Suspicious Oil and Gas Drilling Activities
On January 27, 2010, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the Eyes on Drilling tipline for citizens to report non-emergency suspicious activity...
- 1.29.10 James J.A. Mulhall
The use of air sampling data is frequently an important part of a toxic tort case. The West Virginia Supreme Court recently released an opinion in which it addressed a permitted use of air sampling data at the time of trial, even when an applicable...
- 1.29.10 Carolyn Wade
WHY EMPLOYERS SHOULD BE CONCERNED ABOUT THE PERSONNEL FILE BILL
Once again, a bill -- HB 4010 -- has been introduced in the legislature that would give all employees the right to inspect and copy their personnel files. This year, however, it appears...
- 1.26.10 George Carenbauer/Eric Lycan
U.S SUPREME COURT ALLOWS CORPORATIONS TO MAKE INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES FOR OR AGAINST CANDIDATES IN ELECTIONS
The U.S. Supreme Court released a major opinion holding that the Federal law banning corporate funding of “independent expenditures” for or...
- 1.08.10
Steptoe & Johnson has been ranked among the 100 largest firms in three different practice areas according to Law360. The practice areas and numeric rankings include: Employment (89), Energy (25), and Insurance (86). The rankings resulted from a survey...