California kicked out of court in suit against car makers

The State of California's suit, which alleged the auto makers were responsible for damaging the state with greenhouse gases that were changing the climate, was thrown out of federal district court today. As always, look forward to an appeal.

The six auto makers sued were Ford, GM, Toyota, and the North American branches of DaimlerChrysler, Honda, and Nissan. The federal District Judge, Martin Jenkins, held that even if the six auto makers did contribute to greenhouse gas pollution in the state, it would be impossible to determine to what extent, and therefore to what extent they might be responsible for climate change. And as any first-year law student will tell you, without proof of causation or damages, you have no case.

The judge went on to say it was the province of the legislature, rather than the judiciary, to determine whether auto makers are responsible for global warming.