Paula Dittrick
Senior Staff Writer
HOUSTON, Sept. 18 -- A US District Judge in San Francisco has quashed California's lawsuit against major automakers regarding vehicle emissions.
US District Judge for the Northern District of California Martin Jenkins ruled Sept. 17 that the state of California was trying to "punish (automakers) for lawfully selling their automobiles."
Jenkins said federal lawmakers—not judges—should decide if auto manufacturers are responsible for what California Att. Gen. Jerry Brown has called greenhouse gas emissions-related problems. The lawsuit sought millions of dollars in damages, citing drought, beach erosion, and warmer temperatures.
"The court finds that injecting itself into the global warming thicket at this juncture would require an initial policy determination of the type reserved for the political branches of government," Jenkins said.
He approved a motion from automakers to dismiss the case. Defendants were General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co., the US division of DaimlerChrysler AG, Toyota Motor Co., Honda North America, and Nissan North America.
In a separate case, US District Judge Williams Session III of Burlington, Vt., ruled Sept. 12 that the state of Vermont can regulate GHG emissions from vehicles. His ruling came in a 240-page decision following a 16-day trial that ended in May.
During the Vermont trial, auto industry executives testified that regulations by Vermont, California, and other states would not stop global warming but would impose prohibitive costs on auto manufacturers.
California, Vermont, and 10 other states want to impose tougher standards on vehicle emissions than federal regulators require. The proposed GHG laws by states cannot take effect until the US Environmental Protection Agency grants a waiver requested by California under the Clean Air Act (CAA).
The other states are Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington. Approval of California's waiver means the other states would get approval automatically (OGJ, June 25, 2007, p. 31).
The California legislature passed a GHG law in 2002 requiring automakers to reduce vehicle emissions 30% by 2016. The state filed its request for an EPA waiver in December 2005 and still awaits an answer from the EPA.
Meanwhile on Apr. 2, the US Supreme Court ruled Apr. 2 that the EPA has the authority, under the CAA, to enact limits on carbon dioxide emissions (OGJ, Apr. 9, 2007, p. 33). That lawsuit was filed by Massachusetts and other states.
Contact Paula Dittrick at [email protected]
