Judicial Analyses

Click on a case title below to view a Pew Center summary of the court's ruling.

Clean Air Act/Pre-emption Cases

These cases involve disputes regarding whether the Clean Air Act applies to greenhouse gas emissions and whether federal authority bars states from regulating greenhouse gas emissions.

• Massachusetts , et al. v. Environmental Protection Agency, et al., No. 05–1120 (April 2, 2007) [1]
• Central Valley Chrysler-Jeep Inc. v. Goldstone, No. CV-F-04-6663 (E.D. Cal. 2006). [2]
• Green Mountain Chrysler Plymouth Dodge Jeep v. Crombie, F. Supp. 2d 295 (D. Vt. Sept. 12, 2007). [3]

Common Law Nuisance and Tort Claims

These cases involve claims by a variety of parties (e.g., states and individual citizens) who argue that actions contributing to warming represent a nuisance that harms them under common law tort doctrine.

• Connecticut v. American Elec. Power Co., 406 F.Supp.2d 265 (S.D.N.Y. 2005). [4]
• California v. General Motors, et al., 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 68547 (N.D. Cal. 2007). [5]
• Comer v. Murphy Oil USA, Inc., No. 05-CV-436LG (S.D. Miss. Aug. 30, 2007). [6]
• Kivalina v. ExxonMobil Corp., et al. (2008)  [7]
• Connecticut v. American Elec. Power Co. et al. (2009) [8]

National Environmental Policy Act Cases

Claims under the National Environmental Policy Act (or similar state "NEPAs") question whether government agencies have failed to sufficiently analyze or disclose information about the implications of their projects and programs on climate change. 

• Center for Biological Diversity v. NHTSA, No. 06-71891 (9th Cir. 2007). [9]