Articles

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Defendants Win "Round One" of Climate Change Litigation in United States Supreme Court (with John S. Gray), Westlaw Environmental Journal (2011)

In American Electric Power Co. v. Connecticut (“AEP”), the United States Supreme Court held that...

 

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A Political Question: Public Nuisance, Climate Change and the Courts (with John S. Gray), The Environmental Forum (2011)

When it comes to climate change regulation, one of the great discussions of our day...

 

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Public Nuisance at the Crossroads: Policing the Intersection Between Statutory Primacy and Common Law (with John S. Gray), Chapman Law Review (2011)

Public nuisance is at the “crossroads” in California. The California lead paint litigation may be...

 

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Uncommon Law: Ruminations on Public Nuisance, Missouri Environmental Law and Policy Review (2011)

The ancient common tort of public nuisance is one of the most highly visible issues...

 

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The Boundaries of Public Nuisance (with John S. Gray), Westlaw Environmental Journal (2010)

Over the past 20 years, government entities have sought to use the vagueness of generic...

 

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Practical Guide to Environmental Law and Regulatory Compliance in Texas (with John S. Gray), State Bar of Texas Corporate Counsel Institute (2010)

History teaches us that the natural development of our land and resources has been a...

 

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Crude Defenses? Liability Limits for Offshore Drilling Accidents and Oil Spills, Toxics Law Reporter (2010)

All those who participate in realizing the benefits of exploration – including those who use...

 

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Stretching the Boom? Limiting Liability for Offshore Drilling Disasters, Westlaw Environmental Journal (2010)

Offshore drilling is a tremendously complicated and potentially lucrative process. Unfortunately, it is also dangerous....

 

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Hannibal Eclipsed? Envelopment by Public Nuisance, Westlaw Environmental Journal (2010)

Only recently, the ancient tort of public nuisance was “down” and in the process of...

 

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The Theater of Climate Change, Westlaw Environmental Journal (2010)

In a season of failure the United Nations’ climate change initiatives have suffered yet another...

 

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The Winter of Our Discontent: The Impact of Copenhagen's Failure, Westlaw Environmental Journal (2010)

Far from treating climate change as a “universal” problem that transcends national boundaries, the Copenhagen...

 

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Bringing Diplomacy to a Boil: Options for Agreements in Copenhagen, Andrews Litigation Reporter (2009)

As of Tuesday night, United Nations negotiators still disagreed on the financial aid that the...

 

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COPENHAGEN’S DISAPPOINTING DÉNOUEMENT: ANATOMY OF A FAILED CONVOCATION, Andrews Litigation Reporter (2009)

The Copenhagen Climate Change Conference is over. For two weeks, the United Nations and its...

 

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Negotiating With Someone Else's Money: Shifting the Responsibility for Climate Change Funding, Andrews Litigation Reporter (2009)

Some people think that “Climategate” will ultimately undermine everything that the UN is attempting to...

 

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The "Climategate" Controversy: A Tree Falls in the Forest -- But Is Copenhagen Listening?, Andrews Litigation Reporter (2009)

An old philosophical riddle asks "If a tree falls in a forest and no one...

 

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The First "Official" Draft of the Copenhagen Agreement: Blanks, Brackets, Chewing Gum, and Baling Wire, Andrews Litigation Reporter (2009)

The war of words – and the fight over money – continued at the Copenhagen...

 

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The Insolence of Office: Exposing the Politics of Perception in Copenhagen, Andrews Litigation Reporter (2009)

Despite the malaise that seemed to overlay the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference before opening day,...

 

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The Queer Case of the Quarelsome Convocation: Allies, Adversaries, Indifference and Exaggeration in Copenhagen, Andrews Litigation Reporter (2009)

There’s no doubt, insofar as the UN is concerned, that the island nations are in...

 

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Clearing the Air in Copenhagen, Andrews Litigation Reporter (2009)

As I prepare to depart for the Copenhagen climate change conference, the entire process seems...

 

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The Crucible of Common Sense: Real and Illusory Expectations in Copenhagen, Andrews Litigation Reporter (2009)

The agenda is set for the United Nation’s Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen – but...

 

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Premature Burial? The Resuscitation of Public Nuisance Litigation (with John Gray), Toxics Law Reporter (2009)

On Sept. 22, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in Connecticut v....

 

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Lifting the Veil: Pressures Mount for Climate Change Disclosures, The Electricity Journal (2009)

Measures from Sarbanes-Oxley to climate change legislation will pervasively transform the manner in which American...

 

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The Expanding Use of the Alien Tort Statute in International Human Rights Enforcement, Class Action Litigation Report (2009)

This article examines the historical foundations of the ATS, the complexities of its recent interpretations....

 

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A Lawyer's Look at the Science of Global Climate Change (with John S. Gray), World Climate Change Report (2009)

Whether human-induced global climate change is – or is not – a scientific reality, and...

 

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"Negligence in the Air?" Should "Alternative Liability" Theories Apply in Lead Paint Litigation? (with John S. Gray), Pace Environmental Law Review (2008)

This article examines various theories of alternative liability and the circumstances, policies and limitations under...

 

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Defending Climate Change Litigation: Threshold Issues (with John S. Gray), Andrews Environmental Litigation Reporter (2008)

Climate change litigation faces significant obstacles. Traditionally, courts focus on individuals injured by acts, omissions...

 

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A Sub-Prime Tort? Public Nuisance - An Unfit Tool for Lending Regulation (with John S. Gray and Diana P. Larson), Washington Legal Foundation - Working Paper No. 157 (2008)

For the last decade, lawyers representing governmental entities such as cities, counties and states have...

 

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The Mouse Roars! Rhode Island High Court Rejects Expansion of Public Nuisance (with John S. Gray and Thomas R. Bender), Washington Legal Foundation (2008)

On July 1, 2008, the Supreme Court of Rhode Island, the smallest state in the...

 

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Are Unilateral Climate Change Policies Creating the "Perfect Storm?" (with John S. Gray), World Energy (2008)

As the maelstrom approaches, and as the complications proliferate, the comforting idea of a “green”...

 

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Applying the Endangered Species Act to Global Climate Change (with John S. Gray), Daily Environmental Report (2008)

The “pit bull” of environmental law has taken its first bite into global climate change...

 

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Judges in the Hot Seat: How Does the Legal System Deal with Climate Change?, Energy Online (2008)

Even if a consensus of scientists has seemingly confirmed the existence of global climate change,...

 

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Alchemy in the Courtroom? The Transmutation of Public Nuisance Litigation (with John S. Gray), Michigan State Law Review (2007)

This Article continues our study of the public nuisance controversy regarding lead paint. Although lead...

 

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Getting the Lead Out: The Misuse of Public Nuisance Litigation by Public Authorities and Private Counsel (with John S. Gray), Toxics Law Reporter (2006)

Despite the wide array of substances and products potentially subject to this expanded cause of...

 

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Reunion in Salem: Updating the MTBE Controversy, Environmental Law Reporter (2006)

Concerned about groundwater contamination and the potential health effects of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE),...

 

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There and Back Again: The Progression of Regression of Contribution Actions Under CERCLA, Tulane Environmental Law Journal (2005)

Surely no environmental law controversy in recent memory has followed a path filled with more...

 

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Dispelling the Myths of Asbestos Litigation: Solutions for Common Law Courts, South Texas Law Review (2003)

After the Berlin wall fell in 1990, it appeared that the term "cold war" had...

 

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Armageddon Through Aggregation: The Use and Abuse of Class Actions in International Dispute Resolution, Michigan State University -- Detroit College of Law Journal of International Law (2001)

A troubling and dangerous phenomenon has emerged onto the international litigation landscape. The system of...

 

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The International Class Action: Comments on the Geneva Group Action Debates, Class Action Litgation Report (2000)
 

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MTBE: Can The Controversy Be Contained?, Toxics Law Reporter (1999)

Controversy concerning the gasoline additive MTBE may mark the beginning of yet another mass tort...

 

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Limitations on the Duty to Warn Under the Restatement (Third) of Torts, Kansas Journal of Law and Public Policy (1998)

The Restatement (Third) of Torts carries forward the former Restatement's limitations on the warning duties...

 

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Building a Better Mousetrap: A New Approach to Trying Mass Tort Cases, Texas Tech Law Review (1998)

For many years, both state and federal courts have struggled with the extraordinarily difficult problems...

 

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Determining Trial Type in Complex Toxic Tort and Environmental Cases, Toxics Law Reporter (1996)

Generally, there are four trial options available for dealing with complex multi-party cases, although they...

 

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Knowing Just Enough To Be Dangerous: A Primer for Complex Toxic Tort and Environmental Cases, Toxics Law Reporter (1996)

"Complexity" is a hallmark of toxic tort and environmental litigation. To be sure, these cases...

 

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The Unanswered Questions of Christopherson v. Allied Signal Corporation, Villanova Environmental Law Journal (1992)

In Christophersen v. Allied-Signal Corp. , the Fifth Circuit sitting en banc announced a controversial...

 

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Products Liability and the Chemical Manufacturer: Limitations on the Duty to Warn, Oklahoma Law Review (1985)

In the last decade, the principles of strict liability have been expanded to encompass virtually...

 

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Strategic and Scientific Considerations in Toxic Tort Defense, South Texas Law Journal (1985)

The past decade has seen a dramatic increase in suits for injuries resulting from exposure...

 

Unpublished Papers

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Stormy Weather Ahead? The Legal Environment of Global Climate Change, ExpressO (2007)

Whether one believes, as a matter of science, the problem of climate change is real...