On Sept. 17, 2007, a federal district court in California dismissed a lawsuit filed by the State of California against the nation’s six largest automakers for their alleged role in contributing to global warming. Specifically, California sought to hold the manufacturers liable under tort law for supposedly creating a “public nuisance” through the greenhouse gas emissions from the cars they manufactured.
The NAM joined with Pacific Legal Foundation in filing an amicus brief on 04/08/08, urging the Ninth Circuit to affirm the district court’s dismissal of this case.
First, our brief argues that federal jurisdiction is inappropriate under a common law nuisance theory in a case alleging in-state acts by in-state defendants. Even if the Ninth Circuit finds that federal jurisdiction is proper, a nuisance claim cannot be sustained because the activity complained of, the manufacture and sale of automobiles, is entirely consistent with applicable federal and state laws and is even compulsory in some circumstances (for example, California Vehicle Code § 11713.3 makes it illegal for automakers to refuse or fail to deliver vehicles against orders placed by dealers).
Second, our brief urges the Ninth Circuit to affirm dismissal of the pendent state public nuisance claims, arguing that there is no legal consensus on what actually constitutes a public nuisance, that the manufacture and sale of automobiles is certainly not the sort of unreasonable behavior required to find public nuisance under California law, and that the Ninth Circuit should not expand the already dangerously vague tort of public nuisance, as doing so would violate the Due Process Clause.
Attorney General Jerry Brown moved to voluntarily dismiss this case in June, 2009, because the federal government is stepping up its activity to regulate greenhouse gases.