Energy & Utilities Law › Civil Procedure › Constitutional Law

Fifth Circuit Knocks Out Climate Change Liability Lawsuit Again

Res judicata is one of those phrases learned in law school that seemed of limited utility. How often is someone going to bring the same claim twice?...more

Climate Change Legal Theories: The Atmospheric Public Trust Doctrine Moves Another Step Forward

One of the shibboleths of those following climate change litigation is the idea that new legal theories will be surfaced, fired in the furnace of litigation and then forged as the vehicle for addressing climate change in the...more

Alberta Court of Appeal Decides Panel Not Required to Determine Adequacy of Crown’s Aboriginal Consultation

On November 26, 2012, the Alberta Court of Appeal released the decision of Justice Slatter denying leave to appeal a decision made by the Joint Review Panel (the Panel) established to evaluate Shell Canada’s application to...more

The Third Climate Change Liability Suit Fights to Stay Alive: Plaintiffs in Kivalina v. ExxonMobil Seek Rehearing

The plaintiffs in the climate change liability suit, Native Village of Kivalina v. ExxonMobil, won’t go quietly. Last Thursday, Plaintiffs filed with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals a petition for rehearing en banc...more

MassDEP Issues Its Decision on the Palmer Bio-mass Facility: Right on the Merits, Wrong on Standing

I finally had an opportunity to review the recent Final Decision in In the Matter of Palmer Renewable Energy, concerning the proposed Palmer biomass facility. Last week, MassDEP Commissioner Ken Kimmell affirmed the...more

Lessons from a Long, Long Eminent Domain Battle

A few weeks ago, the California Court of Appeal issued an interesting unpublished decision detailing a long, drawn-out eminent domain battle in Riverside County. I haven't blogged about it yet because, well to be honest, it...more

Major Provisions of Pennsylvania’s Oil and Gas Act Deemed Unconstitutional

Commonwealth Court rules on amendments limiting municipal zoning authority. On July 26, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania held that 2012 amendments to Pennsylvania's Oil and Gas Act (Act 13) that preempt local...more

Preemptive Zoning Provisions of Act 13 Held Unconstitutional

Yesterday, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania issued an order declaring null and void sections of the new 2012 Oil and Gas Act ("Act 13"), which preempted local zoning ordinances that regulate oil and gas operations and...more

JWJ Industries, Inc. v. Oswego County

Decision Granting TRO and Preliminary Injunction against County Flow Control Law

The United States District Court in Syracuse has issued a preliminary injunction against Oswego County to prohibit it from enforcing the 2011 Flow Control Law against JWJ Industries, Inc. and Jeff Holbook. The Court...more

Arizona Supreme Court Denies Goldwater Institute's Appeal in Lawsuit Over REST Rules

Without comment, the Arizona Supreme Court yesterday declined to hear an appeal of the Court of Appeals' decision in the legal battle over the state's Renewable Energy Standard and Tariff (REST) rules. The appeal was sought...more

U.S. Supreme Court Tosses Federal Nuisance Claims in Climate Change Lawsuits

The U.S. Supreme Court threaded the needle in its 8-0 decision in AEP v. Connecticut. The Court unanimously ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency's greenhouse gas rulemaking under authority of the Clean Air Act has...more

FERC Addresses Status of Federal Entities Under Reliability Rules

In an order issued on December 16, 2010, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) affirmed that federal entities are subject to the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) Reliability Standards. At the...more

Federal Appeals Court Upholds Dismissal of Lawsuit Seeking to Prevent Village's Acquisition of Utility Assets

Article on 7th Circuit opinion upholding the dismissal of a lawsuit seeking to prevent the Village of Rockton's acquisition of utility assets. This article was written by Dave Scriven-Young, an attorney with Peckar &...more

Wiggle Room for Local Regulation of Marcellus Gas Drilling, or Potentially Reversible Error?

On July 22, 2010, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania decided Penneco Oil Company v. The County of Fayette, Pennsylvania,1 holding that a local "zoning" ordinance targeting natural gas drilling is not preempted by...more

Comer, et al., v. Murphy Oil USA, et al.

En Banc Brief of Amicus Curiae The CATO Institute In Support of Defendants-Appellees

Mississippi homeowners sued 34 energy companies and utilities operating in the Gulf Coast for damage sustained to their property during Hurricane Katrina. The homeowners alleged that the defendants had emitted greenhouse...more

Global Warming Litigation and the Ghost of Mrs. Palsgraf

Any private entity with significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions could be identified in the next climate change lawsuit. Filed in 2004 by a coalition of states and land trusts, Connecticut v. American Electric Power was the...more