After a bit of wrangling with the 9th Circuit's docket, Warming Law is able to report that the state of California has formally appealed its nuisance lawsuit against the auto industry, which was dismissed in October at the district court level by Judge Martin J. Jenkins. The case, California v. General Motors Corp, et. al. (07-16908), is being considered for inclusion in the 9th Circuit's Mediation Program, pursuant to federal and circuit-specific rules; both sides will participate in a settlement assessment conference call on December 11.
Should nothing come of the mediation process-- and seeing as the industry's flat-out refusal to discuss settlement earlier this year led California Attorney General Jerry Brown to continue pursuing the lawsuit, which was brought by his predecessor, we're highly doubtful of any agreement-- the state's opening brief is due in early February. We'll continue to keep readers posted on any further developments in a case that environmental law expert Pat Parenteau recently referred to as "next on the horizon" in the realm of global warming law.
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