WASHINGTON, D.C. — A split District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on June 12 affirmed the confirmation of a Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) arbitral award against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela worth more than $108 million in favor of a Barbadian oil and gas investor, while one judge dissented because the tribunal allowed Venezuela to be represented by President Nicolás Maduro at a time when the United States recognized the country as led by Juan Guaidó.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on June 15 denied a petition for writ of certiorari filed by a digital marketing agency and its owner seeking review of an appellate court’s dismissal of an interlocutory appeal of a lower court order denying a motion to strike under the California anti-SLAPP statute.

ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals dismissed an insurer’s appeal challenging a lower federal court’s denial of its motion to intervene in a lawsuit alleging that its hotel owner insured violated the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA), holding that the lower court did not abuse its discretion in determining that the insurer’s motion to intervene was untimely.

CHARLESTON, S.C. — A South Carolina federal judge granted partial summary judgment to several community groups and cities on remand, finding that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to terminate a series of environmental grants that aimed to help disadvantaged communities address climate challenges and ongoing pollution was unlawful under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and vacating “guidance documents” that shut down the grant program.

HONOLULU — A federal magistrate judge in Hawaii on June 12 recommended approval of the U.S. government’s petition for a good faith determination of a settlement with 367 plaintiffs for amounts ranging from $5,000 to $27,000 in two consolidated lawsuits related to groundwater contamination from a jet fuel spill at the Pearl Harbor Naval Base. The same day, the plaintiffs filed a response in support of the government’s petition, and nonsettling parties filed a statement incorporating their prior brief filed in opposition to a separate-but-related settlement.

RICHMOND, Va. — The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals vacated a lower federal court’s ruling in favor of a defendant insurer in a plaintiff insurer’s lawsuit seeking a declaratory judgment that it has no duty to defend or indemnify a laboratory against an underlying lawsuit alleging that it used improper collection and testing methods and reported false positive drug tests, holding that the underlying action is “related” to an earlier claim that triggers coverage under the plaintiff insurer’s professional liability insurance policy.

ATLANTA — Ruling on two appeals challenging lower federal courts’ rulings in favor of insurers in coverage disputes arising from the opioid epidemic, the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on June 11 certified a question asking the Georgia and Florida supreme courts to decide whether the insurance policies at issue require the insurers to defend and/or indemnify their insureds against the underlying opioid lawsuits.

CHICAGO — A Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed the denial of a motion for attorney fees filed by a plaintiff’s lawyers after a settlement was reached and attorney fees awarded in a multidistrict litigation because a case management order and class counsel’s motion for attorney fees clearly stated that the plaintiff’s counsel could not seek an award for any pre-MDL time.