October 18, 2009

Russell Jackson brings word that the Fifth Circuit has now joined the Second Circuit's much-noted ruling in appearing to give a green light to climate change litigation:

The Fifth Circuit [panel in the new decision] held that plaintiffs lacked standing to bring their claims for unjust enrichment, fraudulent misrepresentation, and civil conspiracy, but that they had standing to assert their claims for public and private nuisance, trespass and negligence. The court further held that this latter group of claims did not present a non-justiciable political question.

The new opinion is Comer v. Murphy Oil (PDF). We covered the Second Circuit decision in Connecticut v. American Electric Power here and earlier, and (by contrast) a trial judge's dismissal (PDF) of the Kivalina suit here.