US Supreme Court to Review Climate Change Tort Case Against Utilities

On December 6, 2010, the US Supreme Court agreed to review a decision by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals authorizing eight states and others to bring suit against certain utilities to prohibit the emissions of greenhouse gases.  The lower court decision, Connecticut et al., v. American Electric Power Corp., 582 F.3d 309 (2d Cir. 2009), had allowed eight states, the City of New York, and three private land trusts to sue the power plants on the ground that “greenhouse gas” emissions are a “nuisance” under federal law.  Their complaint alleges that emissions from six of the nation’s largest electric utilities are causing climate change that harms each of the plaintiffs.  The case is likely to be heard by the Supreme Court next spring, and a decision could come in June, before the end of the Court’s current term.