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Full-Text Articles in Law
Climate Litigation Scores Successes In The Netherlands And Pakistan, Michael B. Gerrard
Climate Litigation Scores Successes In The Netherlands And Pakistan, Michael B. Gerrard
Faculty Scholarship
Most U.S. climate change litigation falls into one of two categories. The vast majority of cases — which receive the bulk of the attention — are based on the Clean Air Act and other statutes. These include Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency (2007) and the current litigation over the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Clean Power Plan. The second category, and the focus of this article, comprises cases based on common law and the Constitution.
Climate Change And The Public Law Model Of Torts: Reinvigorating Judicial Restraint Doctrines, Donald G. Gifford
Climate Change And The Public Law Model Of Torts: Reinvigorating Judicial Restraint Doctrines, Donald G. Gifford
Faculty Scholarship
The Article traces the origins of climate change litigation back to earlier forms of “public interest tort litigation,” including government actions against the manufacturers of cigarettes, handguns and lead pigment. Public interest tort litigation is different in kind from traditional tort actions, even asbestos and other mass products litigation. These new lawsuits address society-wide or even worldwide problems and seek judicially imposed regulatory regimes. As such, they more closely resemble civil rights litigation and what Abram Chayes deemed “the public law model” than they do earlier tort actions. I conclude that the public law model of tort litigation is the …