Kivalina

Native Village of Kivalina v. ExxonMobil Corp., No. cv-08-1138 (N. D. Cal.)

We filed this case on behalf of an Inupiat Eskimo tribe against major oil and electric power corporations and the nation’s largest coal company. Kivalina is located on a narrow barrier island on the Chukchi Sea in the Arctic Circle. The case sought monetary damages so that the village could be relocated due to the ravages of global warming, which has melted the sea ice that formerly protected Kivalina from ocean storms. The federal government estimated the cost of relocation to be $400 million or more.

The district court dismissed the case on the basis of standing and the political question doctrine. On appeal, the Ninth Circuit held that Kivalina’s federal claim was barred by the federal Clean Air Act.