http://business-human rights.org/en/coca-cola- lawsuit-re-india#c9352 Found through: http://www.dailykos.com/
story/2007/10/17/399157/
-India-to-sue-Coca-Cola-and-
updates-on-other-lawsuits#
State of Kerala sues Hindustan CocaCola for pollution and for depleting water sources.
-CocaCola says that the lawsuit does not having standing.
-Atlanta also has a CocaCola plant and water issues.
-UPDATE: Advisory Board for CocaCola management put in place.
Victims of the Bhopal pollution disaster, where over 40 tons of poison gas leaked from a Union-Carbide plant, sued the company.
-The original lawsuit was tried in the United States, but it was denied in favor of having the case decided on in India.
-A settlement was made and Union-Carbide had to pay the victims $470 million dollars.
-Further lawsuits have been filed against Union-Carbide for continued pollution.
-One lawsuit ended in June 2010 with Union-Carbide paying $10,870 and individual board members were to serve two years in prison and pay $2175 apiece.
-Petitions have been filed for harsher punishments in the 2010 case, but so far have been denied.
Rebecca Nguyen
10/16/15
Formation of National Green
Tribunal and Ministry of
Enviroment and Forestry
-Formed two bodies to oversee environmental legislation in 2011 -Closed Nat'l Environment Appellate Authority, pending cases held in limbo between two groups -Arguments against environmental laws can be filed no more than 90 days after the law has been passed. -This could be a difficult factor for many who seek to argue because news of environmental laws may not travel quickly, and finding time and transportation to argue can be difficult. -Almost anyone has standing with the NGT, so long as it is not a frivolous argument.
Rebecca Nguyen
10/17/15
Public Interest Litigations 2002
Mostly Chennai, Delhi.
Also Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad
-Fishing communities and farmers, represented by EarthRights International (ERI), filed suit against the International Finance Council (IFC) in Washington DC in April 2015
-IFC is the private lending arm of the World Bank Group. The suit was due to their $450 million loan to the Tata Mundra project, a coal-fired power plant in Gujarat, India
-The community believes the coal plant impacts both their health and livelihood (by decreasing fish catching)
-First time a community harmed by a World Bank Group project has filed a lawsuit in United States court
Hayley Frank
10/18/2015
Tracy Hester, Assistant
Professor and Director of the Environment, Energy & Natural Resources Center at the
University of Houston Law Center, overviews and compares environmental health lawsuits in India and the US
-Suggests that US could improve results of public interest litigation by utilizing India's approach, including the willingness to order the executive branch to undertake discretionary functions that normally fall outside the scope of judicial review
-M.C. Mehta v. Union of India (1997): protected the Taj Mahal from emissions from coal and coke plants.
-Rangari believes that the coal based thermal plants of MAHAGENCO are violating their terms and conditions.
-He is claiming that his nearby village is suffering as a result of the air pollution caused by the plant.
-Have not found a result for the case yet (only filed in October 2015)
Bill Mehner
10/18/15
National Green Tribunal V. Delhi
(probably not the formal court case name)
-The NGT of India, which handles a majority of India's environmental/pollution cases, has directed that all vehicles older than 15 years must be taken off the road, in order to improve air quality (no real time frame was given for when they wanted the cars off the road)
-The second article states that India's supreme court has pledged it's support for the NGT's actions.
-The article includes statements made by individuals who have said that similar measures have been taken in the past, but nothing has ever really come of them.
Bill Mehner
10/18/15
"Delhi Pollution Case: Can the Supreme Court Manage the Environment?" - By Michael Jackson and Armin Rosencranz
-Supreme Court is talked about with regards to its ability to be an "environmental manager." -Article talks about the Indian Supreme Court's attempt to take the place of the executive branch when it comes to environmental decisions. -Article argues that because of the corporate support that legislators receive from those in the diesel industry, they might be easier when it comes to implementing the necessary environmental legislation, letting the supreme court justices handle the issues instead. -Article also adresses Supreme Court mandating the conversion from Delhi bus fleet to CNG
-Span Motel was developed on unowned forest properties.
-India's Ministry of Environment and Forests was given the right to take over the property and remove damage and pollution developed from this construction, with the fines charged to the Span Motel owners.
-"The Court delivered a land mark judgment and established principle of exemplary damages for the first time in India"
Jessica Fox
10/19/15
People's Union for Democratic Rights v. Union of India (1982)
-Changed the justice system of India, by defining the reason for adoption of PIL (Public Interest Litigation)
-It was defined as “a strategic arm of the legal aid movement which is intended to bring justice within the reach of the poor masses, who constitute the low visibility area of humanity" -The public interest can be used to leverage environmental activism in the results of legal cases.
Jessica Fox
10/19/15
Justice Shah Commission Report on illegal mining (2012)
rights.org/en/coca-cola-
lawsuit-re-india#c9352
Found through:
http://www.dailykos.com/
story/2007/10/17/399157/
-India-to-sue-Coca-Cola-and-
updates-on-other-lawsuits#
-CocaCola says that the lawsuit does not having standing.
-Atlanta also has a CocaCola plant and water issues.
-UPDATE: Advisory Board for CocaCola management put in place.
.org/en/union-carbidedow-
lawsuit-re-bhopal
-The original lawsuit was tried in the United States, but it was denied in favor of having the case decided on in India.
-A settlement was made and Union-Carbide had to pay the victims $470 million dollars.
-Further lawsuits have been filed against Union-Carbide for continued pollution.
-One lawsuit ended in June 2010 with Union-Carbide paying $10,870 and individual board members were to serve two years in prison and pay $2175 apiece.
-Petitions have been filed for harsher punishments in the 2010 case, but so far have been denied.
Tribunal and Ministry of
Enviroment and Forestry
.com/opinion/environmental-litiga
tion-in-india/article2848051.ece
-Closed Nat'l Environment Appellate Authority, pending cases held in limbo between two groups
-Arguments against environmental laws can be filed no more than 90 days after the law has been passed.
-This could be a difficult factor for many who seek to argue because news of environmental laws may not travel quickly, and finding time and transportation to argue can be difficult.
-Almost anyone has standing with the NGT, so long as it is not a frivolous argument.
Also Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad
upload/Newsletters/
Newsletters_17_2002.pdf
Group In U.S. Federal Court for
Destructive Coal-Fired Power Plant
Indian Communities Suffering from
Destructive Coal Plant Sue the IFC
in U.S. Courts
World Bank Group Claims "Absolu
te Immunity" Allows it to Avoid Res
ponsibility for Destructive Coal Pow
er Plant
-IFC is the private lending arm of the World Bank Group. The suit was due to their $450 million loan to the Tata Mundra project, a coal-fired power plant in Gujarat, India
-The community believes the coal plant impacts both their health and livelihood (by decreasing fish catching)
-First time a community harmed by a World Bank Group project has filed a lawsuit in United States court
Professor and Director of the Environment, Energy & Natural Resources Center at the
University of Houston Law Center, overviews and compares environmental health lawsuits in India and the US
U.S. and Indian Litigation Approaches
to Climate Change and Environmental
Harm
-M.C. Mehta v. Union of India (1997): protected the Taj Mahal from emissions from coal and coke plants.
-He is claiming that his nearby village is suffering as a result of the air pollution caused by the plant.
-Have not found a result for the case yet (only filed in October 2015)
(probably not the formal court case name)
air pollutio
Supreme Court backs
ban on old vehicles in Delhi
-The second article states that India's supreme court has pledged it's support for the NGT's actions.
-The article includes statements made by individuals who have said that similar measures have been taken in the past, but nothing has ever really come of them.
-Article talks about the Indian Supreme Court's attempt to take the place of the executive branch when it comes to environmental decisions.
-Article argues that because of the corporate support that legislators receive from those in the diesel industry, they might be easier when it comes to implementing the necessary environmental legislation, letting the supreme court justices handle the issues instead.
-Article also adresses Supreme Court mandating the conversion from Delhi bus fleet to CNG
category/m-c-mehta/
-India's Ministry of Environment and Forests was given the right to take over the property and remove damage and pollution developed from this construction, with the fines charged to the Span Motel owners.
-"The Court delivered a land mark judgment and established principle of exemplary damages for the first time in India"
/AvonResources/India-People-s_
Union_for_Democratic_Rights
_v-_Union_Of_India-1982.pdf
http://thediplomat.com/2014/01
/the-indian-supreme-court-as-environmental-activist/
-It was defined as “a strategic arm of the legal aid movement which is intended to bring justice within the reach of the poor masses, who constitute the low visibility area of humanity"
-The public interest can be used to leverage environmental activism in the results of legal cases.
.org.in/content/362839/report-of-justice-mb-shah-commission-of-inquiry-for-illegal-mining-of-iron-ore-and-manganese/