October 19th, 2009
Kivalina lawsuit died but spawned similar claim
A federal court has upheld the right of Hurricane Katrina victims to sue air polluters over rising sea levels. Earlier the Inuit residents of Alaskan village, Kivalina, had won the same right.
I have confirmed with the U.S. District Court in Oakland, California: The Kivalina laswuit had been dismissed. “Order granting defendants’ motions to dismiss for lack of subject jurisdiction.”
Guess if you want to litigate global warming, you gotta go to the World Court which the U.S.does not recognize anyway.
If by some chance the Katrina suits ends in judgement for damages, it will make the Exxon Valdez settlement and the lawsuits over cigarette smoking and asbestosis look like child’s play. That would finally get the attention of Congress and lead to some attempt to prevent the bankruptcy of major oil and utility companies. We American taxpayers (with some timely loans from our friends in Japana and China) bailed out Citigroup, Bank of America and AIG. If Big Oil loses this one, it could be Exxon and Chevron next. But if Kivalina is precedent, the Katrina suit is doomed as well.
Here’s the judge’s order dismissing the Kivalina suit.
A newsman since 1969, Harry Fuller has worked for CBS, ABC, CNBC Europe, CNET and was founding news director at TechTV. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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