A June 13 ruling by the Iowa Supreme Court highlights a recent trend in environmental litigation: lawsuits against regulated entities asserting state law public nuisance claims for air pollution.  In 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court held unanimously that the Clean Air Act preempts federal common law nuisance claims against a utility for emissions of greenhouse gases. American Electric Power v. Connecticut, 564 U.S. ___ (2011). Since then, litigants have sued power utilities and other entities with Clean Air Act permits under the state common law of nuisance in various states. In 2010, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the… Read more