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California v. General Motors Corp.

Filing Date: 2006
Case Categories:
  • Adaptation
    • Actions seeking money damages for losses
  • Common Law Claims
Principal Laws:
State Law—Nuisance
Description: Public nuisance action by California seeking damages from auto companies for contributions to climate change.
  • California v. General Motors Corp.
    Docket number(s): 07-16908
    Court/Admin Entity: 9th Cir.
    Case Documents:
    Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary
    06/24/2009 Order Download Order issued granting motion for voluntary dismissal.
    06/19/2009 Motion Download Motion to dismiss appeal filed by California. On June 19, 2009, the California Attorney General’s Office voluntarily dropped its appeal to the Ninth Circuit to review the district court’s dismissal of the state’s public nuisance lawsuit against six major automobile companies. The withdrawal contained a statement that recent policy changes by the Obama administration indicated progress on certain related issues, specifically an increase in fuel economy standards and EPA’s “endangerment finding” that greenhouse gases pose a threat to public health and welfare.
  • California v. General Motors Corp.
    Docket number(s): 06-cv-05755
    Court/Admin Entity: N.D. Cal.
    Case Documents:
    Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary
    09/17/2007 Order Download Order issued granting defendants' motion to dismiss. In September 2007, the district court granted the companies’ motion to dismiss, holding that the issues raised were “political questions” which were reserved for the President and Congress.
    09/20/2006 Complaint Download Complaint filed. California filed a lawsuit against car manufacturers alleging that the companies’ vehicles were a substantial source of greenhouse gas emissions, which caused climate change, resulting in millions of dollars in damages to the State.

© 2023 · Sabin Center for Climate Change Law · U.S. Litigation Chart made in collaboration with Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP

The materials on this website are intended to provide a general summary of the law and do not constitute legal advice. You should consult with counsel to determine applicable legal requirements in a specific fact situation.