U.S.: Emissions of Greenhouse Gases & Global Warming - Regulation through Litigation? Who is Liable for Damages Arising from Global Warming?
Written by by William H. Hyatt, Jr. and Mary Theresa S. Kenny.
Two recent United States Court of Appeals decisions may herald a new wave of litigation for damages arising from greenhouse gas emissions. Plaintiffs, relying on the federal and state common law of public and private nuisance, as well as other common law tort theories, and encouraged by the prospect of potentially substantial compensatory and punitive damage awards, may sue public sector and private industry defendants, contending that their emissions of greenhouse gases have caused or contributed to global warming, in turn, harming the plaintiffs.
In the course of resolving those lawsuits, courts are likely to be called upon to make judgments that practitioners might expect would be made, at least in the first instance, by Congress or by regulatory agencies.
