NATIVE VILLAGE OF KIVALINA v. EXXONMOBIL CORP.

No. 09-17490.

696 F.3d 849 (2012)

NATIVE VILLAGE OF KIVALINA; City of Kivalina, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION; BP P.L.C.; BP America, Inc.; BP Products North America, Inc.; Chevron Corporation; Chevron U.S.A., Inc.; ConocoPhillips Company; Royal Dutch Shell PLC; Shell Oil Company; Peabody Energy Corporation; The AES Corporation; American Electric Power Company, Inc.; American Electric Power Services Corporation; Duke Energy Corporation; DTE Energy Company; Edison International; MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company; Pinnacle West Capital Corporation; The Southern Company; Dynegy Holdings, Inc.; Xcel Energy, Inc.; Genon Energy, Inc., Defendants-Appellees.

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.

Filed September 21, 2012.


Attorney(s) appearing for the Case

Matthew F. Pawa (argued), Law Offices of Matthew F. Pawa PC, Newton Centre, MA; Brent Newell , Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment, San Francisco, CA; Steve W. Berman , Babara Mahoney , Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Seattle, WA; Reed R. Kathrein , Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Berkeley, CA; Gary E. Mason , Khushi Desai , The Mason Law Firm, Washington, D.C.; Heather Kendall-Miller , Native American Rights Fund, Anchorage, AK; Dennis Reich , Reich & Binstock, Houston, TX; Christopher A. Seeger , Stephen A. Weiss , James A. O'Brien , Seeger Weiss LLP, New York, NY; Stephen D. Susman , H. Lee Godfrey , Eric J. Mayer , Susman Godfrey LLP, Houston, TX; Terrell W. Oxford , Susman Godfrey LLP, Dallas, TX; Marc M. Seltzer , Susman Godfrey, LLP, Los Angeles, CA; Drew D. Hansen , Susman Godfrey LLP, Seattle, WA, for the appellants-plaintiffs.

Jerome C. Roth , Scott W. Coyle , Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP, San Francisco, CA; Ronald L. Olson , Daniel P. Collins , Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP, Los Angeles, CA, for appellee-defendant Shell Oil Company.

Jonathan D. Hacker , O'Melveny & Myers LLP, Washington, DC; John F. Daum , O'Melveny & Myers, Los Angeles, CA, for appellee-defendant ExxonMobil Corporation.

Andrew B. Clubok , Jeffrey Bossert Clark , Susan E. Engel , Joseph Cascio , Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Washington, DC, for appellee-defendant ConocoPhillips Company.

Robert Meaows , Tracie J. Renfroe , Jonathan L. Marsh , King & Spalding LLP, Houston, TX; Lisa Kobialka , King & Spalding LLP, Redwood City, CA, for appellees-defendants Chevron Corporation and Chevron U.S.A., Inc.

Matthew Heartney , Arnold & Porter LLP, Los Angeles, CA; Philip Curtis , Arnold & Porter LLP, New York, NY, for appellees-defendants BP America, Inc., and BP Products North America, Inc.

Kevin P. O'Brien , Crowell & Morning LLP, San Francisco, CA; Kathleen Taylor Sooy , Scott L. Winkelman , Tracy A. Roman , Crowell & Morning LLP, Washington, DC, for appellee-defendant Peabody Energy Corporation.

William A. Norris , Rex Heinke , Richard K. Welsh , Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, Los Angeles, CA; Paul E. Gutermann , Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, Washington, DC, for appellee-defendant The AES Corporation.

Peter D. Keisler , David T. Buente, Jr. , Quin M. Sorenson , Sidley Austin LLP, Washington, DC; Samuel R. Miller , Sidley Austin LLP, San Francisco, CA, for defendants-appellees American Electric Power Company; American Electric Power Service Corporation; and Duke Energy Corporation.

Shawn Patrick Regan , Hunton & Williams LLP, New York, NY; F. William Brownell , Norman W. Fichthorn , Allison D. Wood , Hunton & Williams LLP, Washington, D.C.; Belynda B. Reck , Hunton & Williams LLP, Los Angeles, CA, for appellees-defendants DTE Energy Company; Edison International; MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company; Pinnacle West Capital Corporation; Southern Company.

Thomas A. Rector , Jones Day, San Francisco, CA; Thomas E. Fennell , Michael L. Rice , Jones Day, Dallas, TX; Kevin P. Holewinski , Jones Day, Washington, D.C., for appellee-defendant Xcel Energy, Inc.

Alexandra Walsh , Jeremy Levin , Baker Botts LLP, Washington, D.C., for appellee-defendant Dynegy Holdings, Inc; Reliant Energy, Inc.

Richard O. Faulk , Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP, Houston, TX, for amici American Chemistry Council, Public Nuisance Fairness Coalition, American Coatings Association, and Property Casualty Insurers Association of America.

Sean H. Donahue , Sean H. Donahue Law Office, Washington, DC; Stephen F. Hinchman , West Bath, ME, for amicus Solar Industry.

Victor E. Schwartz , Phil Goldberg , Christopher E. Appel , Shook, Hardy, & Bacon, LLP, Washington, DC; James A. Henderson, Jr. , Frank B. Ingersoll , Cornell Law School, Ithaca, NY, for amici National Association of Manufacturers, National Federation of Independent Small Business Legal Center, and American Tort Reform Association.

Tristan L. Duncan , William F. Northrip , Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP, Kansas City, MO; Richard H. Fallon, Jr. Cambridge, MA, for amicus Natso, Inc.

Ellen J. Gleberman , The Association of International Automobile Manufacturers, Inc., Arlington, VA; Raymond B. Ludwiszewski , Charles H. Haake , Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Washington, D.C., for amicus The Association of International Automobile Manufacturers.

Earl L. Hagstrom , Frederick D. Baker , Kelly Savage Day , Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold LLP, San Francisco, CA, for amici Congressman Lamar Smith and Congressman F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr.

John C. Eastman , Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence, Chapman University School of Law, Orange, CA; Anthony T. Caso , Law Office of Anthony T. Caso, Sacramento, CA, for amicus Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence.

Daniel J. Popeo , Cory L. Andrews , Washington Legal Foundation, Washington, D.C.; Douglas M. Halsey , David P. Draigh , White & Case LLP, Miami, FL, for amicus Washington Legal Foundation.

R.S. Radford , Damien M. Schiff , Pacific Legal Foundation, Sacramento, CA, for amicus Pacific Legal Foundation.

Robin C. Conrad , Amar D. Sarwal , National Chamber Litigation Center, Washington, D.C.; Gregory G. Garre , Richard P. Bress , Gabriel K. Bell , Latham & Watkins LLP, Washington, DC, for amicus The Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America.

Opinion by Judge THOMAS; Concurrence by Judge PRO.


OPINION

THOMAS, Circuit Judge:

The Native Village of Kivalina and the City of Kivalina (collectively "Kivalina") appeal the district court's dismissal of their action for damages against multiple oil, energy, and utility companies (collectively "Energy Producers").1 Kivalina alleges that massive greenhouse gas emissions emitted by the Energy Producers have resulted in global warming, which, in turn, has severely eroded the land...

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