U.S. court reinstates emissions suit vs. utilities
Environmental
A U.S. Appeals Court reinstated on Monday a 2004 lawsuit by eight states and the city of New York against five of the largest U.S. utilities over their carbon dioxide emissions.
The lawsuit was dismissed in October 2005 by U.S. District Court Judge Loretta Preska, who said the issue was a political question for Congress or the President, not the judiciary.
Monday's ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in New York said the judge "erred in dismissing two complaints on the ground that they presented non-justiciable political questions."
The lawsuit against American Electric Power Co Inc, Southern Co, Xcel Energy Inc, Cinergy Corp and the Tennessee Valley Authority public power system, argued that greenhouse gas emissions from their plants were a public nuisance and would cause irreparable harm to property.
The utilities are five of the largest carbon dioxide emitters in the United States. Around 40 percent of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions come from fossil-fueled power plants.
Related listings
-
Ship operator pleads guilty in SF Bay oil spill
Environmental 08/15/2009The Hong Kong-based company that operates the cargo ship that caused a 2007 oil spill in San Francisco Bay pleaded guilty Thursday to criminal charges. Fleet Management Ltd. pleaded guilty to charges of obstruction, making false statements and neglig...
-
Court blocks road construction in national forests
Environmental 08/06/2009A federal appeals court Wednesday blocked road construction in at least 40 million acres of pristine national forests.The decision by a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reinstates most of a 2001 rule put in place by President Bil...
-
San Diego will seek lifting of seal removal order
Environmental 07/23/2009The city of San Diego said Tuesday it will go to court to ask a state judge to lift an order requiring the immediate removal of a colony of federally protected harbor seals from a La Jolla cove. The announcement by City Attorney Jan Goldsmith was the...
Grounds for Divorce in Ohio - Sylkatis Law, LLC
A divorce in Ohio is filed when there is typically “fault” by one of the parties and party not at “fault” seeks to end the marriage. A court in Ohio may grant a divorce for the following reasons:
• Willful absence of the adverse party for one year
• Adultery
• Extreme cruelty
• Fraudulent contract
• Any gross neglect of duty
• Habitual drunkenness
• Imprisonment in a correctional institution at the time of filing the complaint
• Procurement of a divorce outside this state by the other party
Additionally, there are two “no-fault” basis for which a court may grant a divorce:
• When the parties have, without interruption for one year, lived separate and apart without cohabitation
• Incompatibility, unless denied by either party
However, whether or not the the court grants the divorce for “fault” or not, in Ohio the party not at “fault” will not get a bigger slice of the marital property.