A controversial rule by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that would require oil and gas extraction companies to disclose government payments was vacated today by a Washington federal judge.
The agency "fundamentally miscalculated the scope of its discretion" and "abdicated its statutory responsibility to investors," Judge John Bates of U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in granting summary judgment to the American Petroleum Institute. The institute, with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Independent Petroleum Association of America and the National Foreign Trade Council, sued the SEC after the agency issued its final rule in September.
