PROVIDENCE – A federal judge has ruled that automakers cannot sue to block Rhode Island from enforcing stronger pollution regulations, because other courts have already heard and rejected two identical lawsuits elsewhere.
U.S. District Court Senior Judge Ernest C. Torres wrote in his ruling yesterday that allowing the car companies and their trade groups to bring identical lawsuits in various jurisdictions would be “costly and vexatious” and a “waste of judicial resources.”
The challenge rejected by Torres was brought by General Motors Corp., DaimlerChrysler Corp., the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers. The judge said “it is difficult to see what interest the public has in permitting the plaintiffs another bite at the apple in challenging regulations limiting the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.”
Federal courts in Vermont and California both rejected identical lawsuits challenging the new tailpipe-emissions standards last year. Similar cases are still pending in three other courts, and Torres’ decision could set a precedent for those decisions.
The judge did allow nine local car dealerships to continue to press their case, although he acknowledged the fact that the dealers were represented by the same attorneys as the national carmakers “fuels suspicions that they may be acting in concert or that the dealers are not real parties in interest to this case.”
The automakers and dealers filed the suit in an attempt to block Rhode Island from adopting the more stringent tailpipe emissions standard created by California. The rules would require the automakers to cut the greenhouse gas emissions from their new cars and trucks by 30 percent by 2016.
Under the federal Clean Air Act, California has the right to create its own air pollution rules because its history of regulating air quality dates back further than the federal government’s. However, the state must apply to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for a waiver to enforce its standards.
The agency denied California’s waiver application, leading the state to file a challenge, which is still pending, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. President-elect Barack Obama is expected to reverse the Bush Administration’s position and grant approval of California’s waiver application.
Rhode Island and 11 other states have passed emissions standards identical to California’s that would take effect if the waiver is granted. Other states are considering doing the same.
Environmental groups and state leaders hailed the judge’s decision. “We are very pleased with this decision that upholds a well-recognized legal principle by telling the automakers they’ve litigated, to the limit, the requirements to build cleaner cars,” R.I. Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch said in a statement. He said the automakers had “wasted enormous resources” challenging the standards rather than innovating to meet them.
W. Michael Sullivan, director of the R.I. Department of Environmental Management, told The Associated Press that the car companies could meet the new standards using existing technology. “This decision is going to allow us to reinforce the message of, ‘Stop fiddling around and do it,’” he said.
The judge’s ruling is just the latest setback for GM and Chrysler, both of which are in dire financial straits and asking the federal government for a $25 billion loan. GM is expected to run out of cash in a matter of weeks.
“If the car makers want to convince Congress and the American people they are serious about change and worthy of federal support, dropping their litigation against the states would be a good place to start,” said Cynthia Giles, director of the Rhode Island office of the Conservation Law Foundation, one of the environmental groups that joined the lawsuit on Rhode Island’s side.
The seven local car dealerships that were plaintiffs in the suit are Hurd Buick Pontiac-GMC Truck Inc. of Johnston; Hurd Chevrolet of Johnston; Lincoln Dodge Inc. of Lincoln; Paul Masse Chevrolet of East Providence; Paul Masse Pontiac-Cadillac-GMC Inc. of Woonsocket; Simon Chevrolet-Buick Ltd. of Woonsocket; Smithfield Chrysler Jeep Inc. of Smithfield; Tasca Automotive Group Inc. of Cranston; and The New Bay Buick Inc. of East Greenwich.
For information about the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island and its decisions, visit www.rid.uscourts.gov. For news and information from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Rhode Island, visit www.usdoj.gov/usao/ri.
For news and information from the Conservation Law Foundation, visit www.clf.org.
