Court Allows Nuisance Claims for Greenhouse Gas Emissions

摘要

In Connecticut v. American Electric Power, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently handed down a decision, allowing eight states, New York City and three land trusts to continue their nuisance claim against five of the largest U.S. utilities over their release of carbon dioxide emissions. The appeals court reinstated the lawsuit, which was initially dismissed in 2005 by a Federal court judge, who said the issue was a political question for Congress or the President, not the judiciary. The ruling said the judge "erred in dismissing two complaints on the ground that they presented non-justiciable political questions."