(openPR) - HOUSTON – The U.S. Supreme Court today agreed to hear an appeal in American Electric Power v. Connecticut, in which public authorities claim that public utilities' greenhouse gas emissions contributed to climate change. Power companies argue that the universal issues of climate change cannot be solved by ad hoc lawsuits, but rather should be resolved by the political branches of government.

Richard O. Faulk, chair of the Litigation Department of Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP in Texas, and Gardere partner John S. Gray, who recently filed a brief before the court in on behalf of several industry associations supporting the utilities' arguments, praised the High Court for acting decisively in deciding to review the issue of whether private tort claims based on global warming are legitimate.

Mr. Faulk says the Supreme Court's decision to hear the case is a "positive development that may foreshadow the demise of mass tort litigation based on global warming. The use of isolated and ad hoc lawsuits against an arbitrarily selected group of emitters cannot possibly solve the global warming phenomenon. The issue is best left to the international community, the Congress and the EPA, which have the resources and power to deal with this alleged problem. Hopefully, the Supreme Court will now recognize the primacy of those institutions."

Mr. Faulk was reached in Washington, D.C. where, he is scheduled to address a conference of the nation's trial and appellate judges regarding climate change litigation tomorrow morning at George Mason University. Mr. Faulk, who is ranked as a "Leading Lawyer in Environmental Law" by Chambers USA, is "renowned for his expertise in all types of environmental litigation, and in particular for his experience in toxic tort litigation." He also chairs Gardere’s Environmental Practice Group and co-chairs the Climate Change Task Force with Mr. Gray. They are prolific authors and frequent speakers on emerging liability, evidentiary and procedural issues, particularly those affected by climate change and environmental concerns.

Mr. Faulk and Mr. Gray filed their brief on behalf of the American Chemistry Council, American Coatings Association, National Association of Manufacturers, National Petrochemical and Refiners Association, Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, and the Public Nuisance Fairness Coalition.
A copy of the AEP v. Connecticut brief can be found at: www.gardere.com/Binaries/Press%20and%20Publications/AmEle....

Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP, an AmLaw 200 firm founded in 1909 and one of the Southwest’s largest full-service law firms, has offices in Austin, Dallas, Houston and Mexico City. Gardere provides legal services to private and public companies and individuals in areas of energy, hospitality, litigation, corporate, tax, government affairs, environmental, labor and employment, intellectual property and financial services.

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