Professor Frank Files Brief with Supreme Court in Diamond Alternative Energy v. EPA

On March 19, Professor of Environmental Practice Rick Frank filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of UC Davis’ Institute of Transportation Studies in the case of Diamond Alternative Energy v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This litigation involves a lawsuit brought by fossil fuel companies, who challenged USEPA’s grant to the state of California of a “waiver” under the Clean Air Act, allowing California to set vehicle air emission limits more stringent than USEPA adopts for the rest of the nation.

After the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that the fossil fuel companies lacked legal standing to bring this lawsuit against USEPA and California, the U.S. Supreme Court granted review of the case. The brief filed by Frank on behalf of the Institute of Transportation Studies argues that the companies indeed lack standing because any loss of revenues due to their declining sales of fossil fuels is attributable to increased consumer demand for electric-powered vehicles, rather than California’s regulatory mandates.
The Supreme Court will hear the case on April 23, with a decision expected by the end of June.

Richard M. Frank is a leader in the field of environmental law, Professor of Environmental Practice and the founding director of the California Environmental Law and Policy Center at UC Davis School of Law.