American Electric Power Co., Inc. v. Connecticut
Holding: Holding: An equally divided Court affirmed the Second Circuit's exercise of jurisdiction; four members of the Court would hold that at least some plaintiffs have standing to bring the lawsuit. The Clean Air Act and the Environmental Protection Agency's implementation of the Act displace any federal common-law right to seek abatement of carbon dioxide emissions from fossil-fuel fired power plants. (Sotomayor, J., recused).
Judgment: Reversed and remanded, 8-0, in an opinion by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on June 20, 2011. Justice Alito filed an opinion concurring in part and concurring in the judgment, which was joined by Justice Thomas. (Sotomayor, J., recused).
SCOTUSblog Coverage
- Opinion analysis: Warming an EPA worry, at first (Lyle Denniston, June 20, 2011)
- Academic round-up (Amanda Frost, April 22, 2011)
- Argument recap: Searching for a judicial formula (Lyle Denniston, April 19, 2011)
- Argument preview: The courts and global warming (UPDATED) (Lyle Denniston, April 16, 2011)
- Petition of the day (Anna Christensen, September 22, 2010)
Briefs and Documents
Merits Briefs
- Brief of Petitioners American Electric Inc. et al.
- Brief for the Tennessee Valley Authority as Respondent in Support of Petitioner
- Brief for Respondents Connecticut, New York, California, Iowa, Rhode Island, Vermont, and The City of New York
- Reply Brief for Petitioners American Electric Inc. et al.
- Brief for Respondents Open Space Institute, Inc., Open Space Conservancy, Inc., and Audubon Society of New Hampshire
Amicus Briefs
- Brief for the Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America in Support of Petitioner
- Brief for the National Association of Home Builders in Support of Petitioner
- Brief for the Business Roundtable in Support of Petitioner
- Brief for the Edison Electric Institute, American Public Power Association, and National Rural Electric Cooperative Association in Support of Petitioner
- Brief for the Association of Global Automakers, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, and the National Automobile Dealers Association in Support of Petitioner
- Brief for the Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence in Support of Petitioner
- Brief for Law Professors in Support of Petitioner
- Brief for Consumer Energy Alliance, NATSO, Inc., American Trucking Associations, Petroleum Marketers Association of America, Energy Corporation, and International Liquid Terminals Association in Support of Petitioners
- Brief for CATO Institute in Support of Petitioner
- Brief for Nicholas Johnson in Support of Petitioner
- Brief for the American Chemistry Council, American Coatings Association, National Association of Manufacturers, Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, and Public Nuisance Fairness Coalition in Support of Petitioner
- Brief for the States of Indiana, Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming in Support of Petitioner
- Brief for American Petroleum Institute and National Petrochemical and Refiners Association in Support of Petitioner
- Brief for National Federation of Independent Business Small Business Legal Center, American Tort Reform Association, and Croplife in Support of Petitioner
- Brief for Chevron U.S.A. Inc., Shell Oil Company, ConocoPhillips, E.I. Du Pont De Nemours and Company, and Edison International in Support of Petitioner
- Brief for the American Farm Bureau Federation and National Mining Association in Support of Petitioner
- Brief for the Washington Legal Foundation in Support of Petitioner
- Brief for the Pacific Legal Foundation in Support of Petitioner
- Brief for DRI—The Voice of the Defense Bar in Support of Petitioner
- Brief for the Southeastern Legal Foundation, Inc., Ross McKitrick, Ph.D., Laurence I. Gould, Ph.D., and Patrick J. Michaels, Ph.D. in Support of Petitioner
- Brief for Mountain States Legal Foundation in Support of Petitioners
- Brief of Representative Fred Upton, Representative Ed Whitfield, and Senator James M. Inhofe in Support of Petitioner
- Brief for James G. Anderson, Ph.D., David Archer, Ph.D., David S. Battisti, Ph.D., Michael L. Bender, Ph.D., Mark A. Cane, Ph.D., Peter B. DeMenocal, Ph.D., Kerry A. Emanuel, Ph.D., Inez Y. Fung, Sc.D., Peter Huybers, Ph.D., Ralph F. Keeling, Ph.D., Mario J. Molina, Ph.D., Raymond T. Pierrehumbert, Ph.D., Daniel P. Schrag, Ph.D., and Steven C. Wofsy, Ph.D., in Support of Respondent
Certiorari-stage documents
