Court Decisions

• County of Santa Clara v. Santa Clara Superior Court
  • The Supreme Court of California: County of Santa Clara v. The Superior Court of Santa Clara County.
  • California Court of Appeal, Sixth District: County of Santa Clara v. The Superior Court of Santa Clara County.

• Native Village of Kivalina v. ExxonMobil Corp.
  
  • United States District Court for the Northern District of California: Native Village of Kivalina v. ExxonMobil Corp., (granting Defendant's Motion to Dismiss).

• City of St. Louis v. Benjamin Moore
  
  • Supreme Court of Missouri: City of St. Louis v. Benjamin Moore Co. et al., (affirming summary judgement).

• North Carolina v. Tennessee Valley Authority
  • United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit: State of North Carolina, ex rel. v. Tennessee Valley Authority

• Connecticut v. American Electric Power
  • United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit: Connecticut v. American Electric Power Co. Inc.,

• Rhode Island v. Lead Industries Association
  • Supreme Court of Rhode Island: State of Rhode Island v Lead Industries Association, 2008
  • Rhode Island Précis, Supreme Court of Rhode Island: State of Rhode Island v. Lead Industries Association

In 2008, the Supreme Court of Rhode Island unanimously reversed a jury verdict in a lawsuit brought by the Rhode Island Attorney General in which it was alleged that certain former lead pigment manufacturers should be liable for creating a public nuisance defined as the cumulative presence of lead pigment in paints and coatings on buildings throughout the state of Rhode Island. This précis highlights key elements of the case that the court scrutinized in reaching their decision.

• New Jersey
  • New Jersey Supreme Court: In Re Lead Paint Litigation
  • New Jersey Supreme Court in In Re Lead Paint Litigation, 2007, by Steven P. Benenson and Borden R. Gillis

Analysis of the 2007 New Jersey Supreme Court decision which held that various governmental entities did not state a viable common law public nuisance claim for economic or personal injury damages against the former manufacturers of lead paint and pigment.

• Contingency Fees
  • Court Decisions Regarding the Subject of Contingency Fees, by David Axelrad and Lisa Perrochet

A survey of relevant case law surrounding the use of contingency fee lawyers by governmental entities in public nuisance causes of action.

• Climate Change Litigation
  • Carbon Dioxide Emission Public Nuisance Cases

This memorandum summarizes the key holdings in two recent carbon dioxide emission public nuisance decisions in the federal circuit courts, followed by a critique of the reasoning and an attempt at predicting where they will lead.