Novel DOJ Standing Claim May Seek To Limit Fallout In Climate Suit

摘要

Legal experts say the Department of Justice's (DOJ) argument opening the door for the Supreme Court to reject states' standing in a pending greenhouse gas (GHG) nuisance case on narrow "prudential" grounds may be aimed at offering the court an alternative to industry arguments to deny standing on broader constitutional grounds, which would dramatically limit states' standing in future cases and bar Congress from legislating on the issue.rnWhile some experts are charging that DOJ's argument that states lack "prudential" standing to sue utilities for common law damages over their GHG emissions is baffling because it could undermine the administration's stated desire to leverage the case into congressional action on climate change, other sources say the administration is seeking to head off a potentially broad constitutional precedent pushed by industry groups.