"A New Era of Public Nuisance Law?"

Trent Taylor, a partner with McGuire Woods, has published "State of North Carolina v. TVA - A New Era In Public Nuisance Law?" (pdf) in the BNA Toxics Law Reporter.   In the article, Taylor discusses a January 2009 decision out of the Western District of North Carolina, which held that air emmissions from coal-fired power plants operated by the TVA were a public nuisance, and ordered the TVA to install enhanced pollution controls at a cost of nearly $1 billion.  Taylor argues that the case significantly expands the doctrine of public nuisance, and could lead to public nuisance suits targeting global warming and climate change - what he calls "the next big battlefield in tort law." 

- SBS