It’s time for another installment in my periodic postings on frivolous lawsuits.
This one comes from the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled last month that landowners in Mississippi have “standing” to sue oil and coal companies for emitting greenhouse gases. In their class-action lawsuit, the landowners claim that these emissions contributed to global warming, which caused sea levels to rise. That in turn, the lawsuit claims, exacerbated the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina.
If you think this is an isolated case—it’s not. The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals already reinstated a lawsuit against American Electric Power Co. based on similar claims. That court ruled that since Congress hadn’t enacted legislation restricting greenhouse gas emissions, states, municipalities and certain private organizations could sue to force companies to cap emissions of greenhouse gas.
Two separate federal appeals courts—just one level below the U.S. Supreme Court—have now informed plaintiff’s attorneys throughout the United States that they now have “standing” to sue anyone that emits greenhouse gases. Indeed, the Supreme Court in 2006 accepted "as plausible the link between greenhouse gas emissions and global warming" and that "rising ocean temperatures may contribute to the ferocity of hurricanes.”
These decisions are an open invitation to plaintiff’s attorneys to sue anyone who they allege contributed to global warming. God forbid you own a business that emits greenhouse gases—the courthouse door is now wide open for enterprising attorneys to sue. Indeed, if you’re wealthy and live in a home that is heated by fossil fuels (or by electricity produced by fossil fuels), or drive a fossil fuel powered vehicle, you just might have to defend yourself in court.
Whether or not you believe global warming is real, and that if it is real, that it’s caused by human emissions of greenhouse gases, these cases cross an important legal threshold. From the dawn of the republic to the present day, it’s perfectly legal to emit greenhouse gases. For the courts to now declare that plaintiffs have standing to sue someone for doing something that is perfectly legal isn’t just unfair. It could also turn our current economic debacle into the deepest depression in history. Just wait until the United States completely de-industrializes due to attorneys suing every business in America that emits greenhouse gases.
It’s possible, of course, that the plaintiffs in the cases before the Second and Fifth Circuit Courts of Appeal won’t be able to prove their case. They’ve only been given the opportunity to do so. Still, the defendants will have to spend money, time and effort defending themselves in what to me seems the penultimate of frivolous lawsuits. And of course, every dollar they spend on legal fees won’t be invested in productive activity.
I can only imagine that entrepreneurs in China, India and other countries that have so far rejected limits on greenhouse gas emissions are rejoicing over these decisions. After all, the deindustrialization of America means more profits for them, and more jobs for the workers they employ.
Is this insane, or what? Am I missing something here? Please comment below!
Copyright © 2009 by Mark Nestmann
Update: Several decisions by federal courts of appeal in 2010 permitted lawsuits to proceed against numerous utility, oil and gas, and chemical companies. These cases all claimed injuries from “global warming” due to the release of carbon dioxide by the defendant companies. However, in 2011, the Supreme Court unanimously overturned a U.S. appeals court ruling that a lawsuit that involved six states can proceed in an effort to force coal-burning plants to cut emissions of greenhouse gases that are alleged to contribute to climate change.
(An earlier version of this post was published by The Sovereign Society, https://banyanhill.com/)
