In the tricky legal world of “preemption” — the principle that federal law “preempts,” or trumps, state law — two recent Supreme Court decisions bode well for ongoing, seemingly unrelated global warming litigation.
The first of these decisions, Altria Group, Inc et al. v. Good et al., concerned a class-action lawsuit brought by smokers in Maine, who claimed the manufacturers of “light” cigarettes used deceptive practices by promoting their product as having fewer health risks than normal cigarettes. The cigarette makers, by contrast, argued that they were immune from state fraud claims if they have met federal cigarette labeling law. In a 5-4 ruling handed down in December, the Supreme Court agreed with the smokers, holding that federal cigarette labeling law does not preempt state fraud claims. Then, in a similar and much higher-profile decision handed down earlier this month, Wyeth v. Levine, the Court held that federal drug labeling law also does not preempt state “failure to warn” lawsuits against drug makers.
In both these cases, the Court determined that states had the right to protect t... Read more
