On Friday, October 16, 2009, the 5th Circuit ruled that plaintiff landowners had standing under Mississippi tort common law to assert causes of action for negligence, private and public nuisance, and trespass against oil companies for their release of greenhouse gases, which caused rising sea levels and increased the ferocity of Hurricane Katrina. The action is pending as a putative class action against the oil companies and has been remanded to a Mississippi district court for further proceedings. See the decision here.
