Litigation

What Does This Logo Mean?

Take a look at the green drop on the bottle of Fiji Water pictured right.  (If you are a rational actor, you won’t buy the bottle for $7, but that’s another story).  What do you think it means?  What if it was accompanied by the website URL “fijigreen.com”? Well, if you are the California Court …

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The Endangerment Litigation

I’ve just spent some time reading the initial briefs in the D.C. Circuit on the endangerment issue.  They strike me as much more political documents than legal ones. A brief recap for those who haven’t been following the legal side of the climate issue.  After the Bush Administration decided not to regulate greenhouse gases under …

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Globalizing Public Nuisance

Let’s assume, as most of us on this blog do, that the Supreme Court will get rid of the public nuisance climate change when it decides Connecticut v. AEP a few weeks from now.  Does that get rid of public nuisance climate cases?  Not necessarily. Whatever one may think of the Clean Air Act’s displacement …

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Clarence Thomas: Nino Scalia Should Resign

Well, not quite.  But just look at the quotes. Clarence Thomas, in a recent speech to Georgia attorneys: “This job is a humbling job,” he said. “It’s the end of the food chain. And some people can do it, and some can’t. But what it teaches you is that you don’t have all the answers. The …

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The Clean Air Act and Greenhouse Gases: Full Employment Act for Lawyers

For several years now, large law firms have sought work related to climate change, though prior to President Obama’s election the work was relatively thin. Sure there were challenges to California’s legislation to regulate greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from cars; defenses to claims under the National Environmental Policy Act and California Environmental Quality Act; and …

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The Death of the Facial Takings Claim

Last week, I reported a couple of recent appellate court opinions that grapple with the question of a “facial” takings claims — neither of them, in my view, very satisfactorily.  The problem, as I see it, is this: a regulatory takings claim turns on the impact of a government regulation on the plaintiff.  But since …

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Wolf delisting rule challenged in federal court

Yesterday, Alliance for the Wild Rockies, Friends of the Clearwater and WildEarth Guardians filed a compliant in the federal district court of Montana challenging the wolf delisting rider. You can check out a press release from WildEarth Guardians here. My previous posts describe the wolf delisting rider and the past litigation on the wolf delisting. …

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What Is a “Facial” Takings Claim?

Interesting and frustrating new case out the 10th Circuit, Alto Eldorado Partners v. County of Santa Fe, which doesn’t appear to have gotten coverage from Takings lawyers and scholars and probably should.  The case involved a challenge to Santa Fe County’s inclusionary zoning ordinance, and it carries potential important federalism issues; it also raises — …

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The New Public Trust Climate Cases

Per the New York Times this morning, a group of environmental organizations called Our Children’s Trust has filed a lawsuit against the state of California, arguing for protection of the atmosphere under the public trust doctrine (about which I blogged a couple of days ago).  A few preliminary reactions after having read the complaint quickly: …

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The Public Trust Doctrine: A Prophet Without Honor

  Michael C. Blumm and R.D. Guthrie of Lewis & Clark Law School have an interesting new paper soon to appear in the U.C. Davis Law Review, pointing out that the public trust doctrine has assumed enormous significance in the jurisprudence of several countries around the world, including India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Uganda, Kenya, South …

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