U.S. Supreme Court

Cert in Connecticut v. AEP: Eight Comments

1)  Well, Obama got what he wanted.  And it’s a good thing, too: by attempting to short-circuit public nuisance suits, he established his good faith on climate change and paved the way for bipartisan cooperation. 2)  It is absurd to argue that a common-law tort claim runs afoul of the political question doctrine.  I’m not …

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U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Climate Change Nuisance Case

The 2010-2011 U.S. Supreme Court case promises to be a blockbuster one for environmental law.  The Court today announced that it had granted a petition for certiorari filed in AEP v. Connecticut (the lower court decision in the case is here).  The case, brought by  a number of states against the country’s five larges utilities , …

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Connecticut v. AEP Cert Decision Soon?

A reporter just called me for background on the climate change public nuisance case from the Second Circuit, Connecticut v. AEP.  She said, “As you probably know, the Supreme Court will announce on Monday whether it will take the case.” Um, no, actually: I didn’t know that.  The Supremes make their decisions throughout the year, …

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U.S. Supreme Court Issues Decision in Monsanto case

The U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision today in Monsanto v. Geertson Seed Farms,   a case involving Monsanto’s efforts to introduce Roundup Ready Alfalfa, a genetically modified crop engineered to tolerate the herbicide Roundup.   The Court, on a 7-1 vote (Stevens dissenting, Bryer recused), held in favor of Monsanto but did so in a way …

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More on Today’s U.S. Supreme Court Property Rights Decision

As fellow Legal Plant contributor, Sean Hecht, reported earlier today, the U.S. Supreme Court decided the most important environmental law case on its current docket: Stop the Beach Renourishment, Inc. v. Florida Dept. of Environmental Protection, No. 08-1151. The Court’s opinion can be found here. The issue in the Stop the Beach Renourishment case is …

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…in which I become petty and backbiting — sort of

Elena Kagan might not be the greatest scholar in the world — and that might be why President Obama appoints her to the Supreme Court.

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SCOTUS Sweepstakes!

With the retirement of the 89-year-old John Paul Stevens, looking imminent, it’s time for the Great Mentioner to, well, start mentioning.  Legal Planet’s own great mentioner, Dan Farber, commenting at TPM about the possibility of Solicitor General Elena Kagan getting the nod, observes “It would be hard for Republicans to explain how they voted to …

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The Supreme Court Backs Off on Consumer Protection and (Maybe) the Environment

In a decision issued last week, the U.S. Supreme Court continued to chip away at consumer protections embedded in the Federal Power Act, and it is the environment that ultimately may take the biggest hit. First, let’s consider those consumer protections.  The Federal Power Act requires the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to ensure that …

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Some Reflections and Predictions Based on Yesterday’s Supreme Court Arguments in the Stop the Beach Renourishment Case

As reported earlier this week on this site, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments yesterday in an important property rights/environmental case, Stop the Beach Renourishment v. Florida Dept. of Environmental Protection. Here are some observations and (perhaps intemperate) predictions based on those arguments, which I was able to attend at the Supreme Court yesterday: …

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The U.S. Supreme Court; the Environment – It’s Not Too Late to Get Briefed

Recently, Berkeley Law’s environmental faculty presented a fast-paced, informative webcast on the numerous, key environmental law decisions handed down by the United Supreme Court in its just-concluded Term. The 90-minute webcast was sponsored and hosted by Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy & the Environment (CLEE). Berkeley Law professors Dan Farber, Holly Doremus, Eric Biber …

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