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Article: 2nd Circuit Rejects "Political Question" Dismissal Of Key Climate Change Case.
- Article from:
- Mondaq Business Briefing
- Article date:
- November 2, 2009
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 Mondaq Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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On Sept. 21, 2009, a two-judge panel of the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals sounded a second significant shot in the complicated climate change litigation fight, ruling that defendants can be sued on a public nuisance theory for greenhouse gas emission.
A U.S. district court in New York previously ruled that whether carbon dioxide released as part of fossil-fueled utility stack emissions could be a public nuisance was a "political question," and thus beyond the reach of the federal courts. This 2nd Circuit reversal follows on the heals of the landmark 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Massachusetts v. EPA, in which the court found carbon emissions to be a ...