California sues carmakers

[TruckDriver]

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060920/bs_nm/environment_autos_dc_23


By Michael Kahn
29 minutes ago



SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California sued six of the world's largest automakers over global warming on Wednesday, charging that greenhouse gases from their vehicles have caused billions of dollars in damages.

The lawsuit is the first of its kind to seek to hold manufacturers liable for the damages caused by their vehicles' emissions, state Attorney General Bill Lockyer said.

It comes less than a month after California lawmakers adopted the nation's first global warming law mandating a cut in greenhouse gas emissions.

California has also targeted the auto industry with first-in-the-nation rules adopted in 2004 requiring carmakers to force cuts in tailpipe emissions from cars and trucks.

Automakers, however, have so far blocked those rules with their own legal action -- prompting one analyst to say California's lawsuit represents a way for California to pressure car manufacturers to accept the rules.

"That's the objective," said David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research, a nonprofit organization that provides public research and forecasts about the industry. "They want to get the automakers basically to bow down and pay homage to the (emissions) law."

The complaint, which an auto industry trade group called a "nuisance" suit, names General Motors Corp. (NYSE:GM - news), Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F - news), Toyota Motor Corp. (7203.T), the U.S. arm of Germany's DaimlerChrysler AG (DCXGn.DE) and the North American units of Japan's Honda Motor Co. (7267.T) and Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (7201.T).

Lockyer told Reuters he would seek "tens or hundreds of millions of dollars" from the automakers in the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Northern California.

Environmental groups hailed the lawsuit, saying it represented another weapon for the state as it seeks to curb greenhouse gas emissions and spur the auto industry to build vehicles that pollute less.

"(California) just passed a new law to cut global warming emissions by 25 percent and that's a good start and this lawsuit is a good next step," said Dan Becker, director of the        Sierra Club's Global Warming Program.

Ford deferred comment to the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which said the lawsuit was similar to one a New York court dismissed that is now on appeal.

"Automakers will need time to review this legal complaint, however, a similar nuisance suit that was brought by attorneys- general against utilities was dismissed by a federal court in New York," the industry group said in a statement.

Toyota declined to comment as the company evaluates the lawsuit, while Honda said in a statement it was committed to developing environmentally responsible technology.

The other automakers had no immediate comment.

But Sean Hecht, executive director of the Environmental Law Center at the University of California, Los Angeles, said the lawsuit has a "reasonable" chance of succeeding.

He also noted the judge in the New York lawsuit cited rarely-used legal doctrine in ruling that the question at issue was political rather than legal and should therefore be addressed by the legislature and not the court.

"I was surprised that the court in that case did that," he said. "I think it is a straight forward legal question. My impression is this is a very legitimate case to bring."

The lawsuit seeks monetary damages for past and ongoing contributions to global warming and asks that the companies be held liable for future monetary damages to California.

It said California is spending millions to deal with reduced snow pack, beach erosion, ozone pollution and the impact on endangered animals and fish.

"The injuries have caused the people to suffer billions of dollars in damages, including millions of dollars of funds expended to determine the extent, location and nature of future harm and to prepare for and mitigate those harms, and billions of dollars of current harm to the value of flood control infrastructure and natural resources," it said.

The Center for Automotive Research's Cole said it would be tough for the industry to immediately meet demands from some critics and predicted other states would quickly follow suit should California succeed with the legal action.

Adoption of diesel engine emissions technology or gasoline- electric hybrids comes at great cost and improving gas mileage also likely means smaller lighter vehicles, trade-offs that are not attractive to consumers, he added.

"These are not free technologies, they are very expensive," Cole said. "Most people are price sensitive."

In the complaint, Lockyer charges that vehicle emissions have contributed significantly to global warming and have harmed the resources, infrastructure and environmental health of the most populous state in the United States.

Lockyer -- a Democratic candidate for state treasurer in the November election -- said the lawsuit states that under federal and state common law the automakers have created a public nuisance by producing "millions of vehicles that collectively emit massive quantities of carbon dioxide."

Carbon dioxide emissions and other greenhouse gases have been linked to global warming.

[dodge freak]

Yeah man cars are awful, wish we still were using horses, then there just be horse crap and dead horses everywhere. Cars have ruined my life, I want my 10 million dollars now.

It would be great if all the car makers would just stop selling new cars in California but they can't -too much money to lose out on. Anybody in that state stop and think that maybe its the hills that block the wind and cause the smog problem to begin with. Those mountains stop the cold air from coming down in the winter but also block fresh air from coming in. Thats not the automakers fault.

How about the other states suing California for the raise in gas prices ? After all they have the most cars and trucks on the road so if it was not for them gas would be cheaper for everybody else.

This is one reason why some people hate lawyers.

[BB1]

They should sue the people that start and drive the cars every day. Just like it's the people killing people not the gun. BOFAH!

Gawd, I'm glad I left that nut house. 

[Recharger]

 

If this suit goes well for them, maybe they'll sue the volcanoes and cows next. 

[BigBlackDodge]

Reminds me of the fat people sueing the fast food joints because they're fat!

BBD

[Old Moparz]

You Know You're In California When...

1. Your coworker has 8 body piercings and none are visible.

2. You make over $1,000,000 and still can't afford a house.

3. You take a bus and are shocked at two people carrying on a conversation in English.

4. Your child's 3rd-grade teacher has purple hair, a nose ring, and is named Flower.

5. You can't remember . . is pot illegal?

6. You've been to a baby shower that has two mothers and a sperm donor.

7. You have a very strong opinion about where your coffee beans are grown, and you can taste the difference between Sumatran and Ethiopian.

8. You can't remember . . . is pot illegal?

9. A really great parking space can totally move you to tears.

10. Gas costs $1.00 per gallon more than anywhere else in the U.S.

11. Unlike back home, the guy at 8:30 am at Starbucks wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses who looks like George Clooney really IS George Clooney.

12. Your car insurance costs as much as your house payment.

13. You can't remember . . . is pot illegal?

14. It's barely sprinkling rain and there's a report on every news station: "STORM WATCH."

15. You pass an elementary school playground and the children are all busy with their cells or pagers.

16. It's barely sprinkling rain outside, so you leave for work an hour early to avoid all the weather-related accidents.

17. HEY!!!! Is pot illegal???

18. Both you AND your dog have therapists.

19. The Terminator is your governor.

20. If you drive illegally, they take your driver's license. If you're here illegally, they want to give you one.

21. The fastest part of your commute is down your driveway.

[Brock Samson]

i can relate to that...

[RD]

and where is this:

Lockyer told Reuters he would seek "tens or hundreds of millions of dollars" from the automakers in the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Northern California.

money going to be distributed to?  they never mentioned that. 

Maybe they can put it to stop all the:

...reduced snow pack, beach erosion, ozone pollution and the impact on endangered animals and fish.

man, that state is whacked... no offense to those that live there, well at least not those that like chargers.

[moparguy01]

car makers should just refuse to sell any cars to Commiefornia. That'll teach them 

[MichaelRW]

Typical California BS (and yes, I live in this land of fruits and nuts). Although this may turn out to be interesting if it makes it to court because the state would have to PROVE that cars contribute to global warming. That hasn't been done yet. I suspect some judge will throw this out before it makes it to court.

[Vainglory, Esq.]

I love California, but I hate this kind of crap.  Aside from New York or Massachusetts, it doesn't seem like this stuff happens anywhere else.

By the way, speaking of New York, there was a very similar case in federal district court there, but it got thrown out.  I did a little further reading, and it was thrown out based on non-justiciability.  Basically, that means that the court decided that it was mostly a political question and didn't belong in court, which after the supreme court decided Baker v. Carr is a very rare thing to do.  In any case, the courts have not decided the issues in the case, and it is seen as unlikely that another court would find it non-justiciable as well. 

Naturally, I think the case is crap, but I'm a little interested to see the outcome.

[Ponch ®]

11. Unlike back home, the guy at 8:30 am at Starbucks wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses who looks like George Clooney really IS George Clooney.

let's see...in the last 4 days I've:

been at a local band's show and ran into the singer from Linkin Park, the guy that used to host Talk Soup, and that commie guitar player of Audioslave/RATM fame.

Last night I went to dinner at Claim Jumper and hottie porn chick Gina Lynn, her porn star boyfriend and a couple of other porn-looking chicks were sitting in the booth next to us. The fact that some of the waitresses at this particular place were hotter than the porn star chicks is irrelevant....

[bull]

Wonderful, what perfect timing for a lawsuit against auto makers. As if driving-related costs aren't high enough now the auto makers are going to pass any and all screwings on to the consumer. But then maybe one or two of the companies will get up off their collective butts and start building some usable, alternative-fuel vehicles. Either way, by the time it's all said and done no one will be totally happy with the outcome.

[Brock Samson]

it's a well established fact that the as the coasts go the heartland follows and the time lag is much, much shorter these days...
I personally feel and it's again only my opinion that there are too many car as it is,.. and I feel its far too easy to receive a driver's licence,..
  I don't think it would be a bad thing to stop selling "NEW" cars period..as there are plenty of cars without bringing in more...
   BTW: It's OK if you disagre as I'd be interest to hear any rebuttals... to my (as usual) hair brained ideas... and don't even get me started on the semi-annual Ca. smog checks...

& while we are on the subject:
in tomorrows news...

Ignoring more than 1,000 scientific studies and recommendations from top air experts, the Bush administration announces it will not clamp down on how much fine particulate pollution - the most lethal of all air pollutants - is spewed into the year on an annual basis. Even with the weaker standards, some California air districts won't be able to meet the new standards.

(You know your in California when in the space of ten years your favorite four resterants and delis close,.. and 12 new Chinese joints open... with two more due to open soon,... 'n all on the same street.).

[Lowprofile]

it's a well established fact that the as the coasts go the heartland follows and the time lag is much, much shorter these days...

Going a step further on this train of thought, tree huggers, libs, and all other disinfranchised wing-nuts shoud just give up on the Whitehouse & put all their efforts into keeping control of the statehouses' in Ca. & NY.

[dodgecharger-fan]

Did ya know that 50% of the soot floating in the air over California comes from Asia?

Did ya know that scientists are studying how that soot affects areas bordering the Indian ocean?
The dust and dirt in the wind from Asia hits cooler air moving from Antarctica and goes up higher into the air where it's trapped in the clouds.
That creates brown clouds which block out the sun's rays. They've measured this using remote control airplanes, loaded with sensors, flying in unison in, above and below the clouds.
The net affect of these brown clouds is less condensation. Which leads to less moisture in the clouds. Which leads to less rain when the clouds come over land. Which leads to drought in that land.

They're also planning to study how these clouds migrate from Asia to North America.

The fruits and nuts are looking the wrong way. Turn around and look out to sea.

[dodge freak]

But they can't sue Asia !

[Silver R/T]

too much bullshit

[dkn1997]

F California, they are worse than hitler!!

[Dale The Bold]

...I feel its far too easy to receive a driver's licence,..
  I don't think it would be a bad thing to stop selling "NEW" cars period..

Those two statements alone get my write-in vote.

Although, you could allow the new Challenger, since it's the first good-looking car in over 30 years.

If manufacturers stopped selling cars in California, I think I'll move there and sell all the cars I picked up on my way there.  And then get a car hauler and take a few trips to surrounding states every month.  Cha-ching.

[dodge freak]

Its not going to happen -theres no way any car marker can skip California , just too many buyers and too much money to lose out on. Remember in January when half the country is snow in, cars are flying off the lots in California as everybody wants the lastest model . I love to see it happen but it won't, California is like a spoiled rich bitch who always gets what she wants.

[Old Moparz]

Okay, I'm applying for a government grant once I have the paperwork in order. A study should be funded to see if all the soot is really from Asia. If the results prove it to be correct, then my proposal is that CA should make it mandatory that all the beach front property owners should stop using dryers & start putting up old fashioned clothes lines. My theory is that the wet clothes would trap enough of the soot, carcinegins, & toxic particles, to drastically reduce the problem.

When the reduction takes place, air quality regulations can be eased to the point where CA can stop using the CA air pollution standards on all the new vehicles. That will save the auto manufacturers money on production, & in turn, reduce the cost to the consumer. The next step is what to do with all the toxic clothing. Redemption coupons will be distributed to all the people in need of new clothing. The military would then be directed to collect the contaminated clothes, & air drop them on Al Quida.

In a short time the toxic particles will be absorbed into their blood stream & slow down the terrorist operations. There is a chance that the war on terrorism can be won afterall.

[Brock Samson]

http://aura.gsfc.nasa.gov/

here's the latest scoop.. on the poop...

[Steve P.]

We have had similar report, (like Asia), here in Florida saying we get tons of pollutants from Africa. The FUNNY thing is that for many years, well before I moved here in 94', Florida had emission controls regulated by the state. (Sniffer barns). Every 2 year old and older car had to pass emissions to be driven. Just after Jeb Bush took office as Governor this all changed. The new studies showed that Florida is well below the PUKE line. NO TESTING here in 6 or more years now.

The fact of the matter is NOT that we pollute less. The fact is that we have winds coming off the ocean that blows it on by!!

I can tell you from being a power plant worker that the crap coming out of those stacks will and do eat the paint off your car in very short order. Every plant I ever worked at had it's own car wash on site. I know many people that own  a WORK car and a family car. The work cars are junkers that probably would never pass an emissions test and have been painted over and over by Maco..  It's not pretty.

When you pull up to a power plant here and see the cars in the parking lot your first thought is that the pay here must really SUCK!!

[RT DAVE]

Isn't there evidence that ozone depletion is an effect of the space shuttle flights?  Maybe the entire world should sue NASA!  Hahaha!  I'm a pinko commie myself, but even I have some limits.   I'm waiting for LAST426 to speak up on this topic...