Forum
U.S. Supreme Court
Case Status
Resolved
Docket Number
Lower Court Opinion
Questions Presented
Whether the Price-Anderson Act, 42 U.S.C. § 2210 et seq., preempts state-law claims by plaintiffs who assert a claim for injuries arising out of alleged radioactive releases and, if so, whether the decision below can stand.
Case Updates
Petition seeking review of Tenth Circuit decision creating circuit split on federal premption question is dismissed
May 19, 2016
The petition for certiorari was dismissed under Supreme Court Rule 46.
U.S. Chamber files amicus brief in support of cert.
January 19, 2016
The U.S. Chamber filed an amicus brief in support of Supreme Court review of a case stemming from a decades-long class action seeking damages for injuries caused by release of plutonium from the Rock Flats nuclear plant in Colorado. The question presented addresses whether a plaintiff who asserts, but fails to prove, a federal claim for a nuclear-related injury under the Price-Anderson Act (“PAA”) can nonetheless pursue and recover on a freestanding state-law claim based on the same facts. The Chamber’s brief argues that the Tenth Circuit’s decision misapplies well-settled preemption doctrine, resulting in a circuit split. The brief also argues that the Tenth Circuit’s decision undermines the complex balance of interests that Congress deliberately struck in the PAA.
Kevin C. Newsom and Jeffrey M. Anderson of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP served as co-counsel for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on behalf of the U.S. Chamber Litigation Center.
Case Documents
- Opinion -- Cook v. Rockwell (CA10).pdf
- Cert. Petition -- Dow and Rockwell v. Cook (SCOTUS).pdf
- Conditional Cross-Petition for Writ of Certiorari -- Cook v. Dow and Rockwell (SCOTUS).pdf
- Louisana Energy Services and Wolf Creek Nuclear Amicus Brief -- Dow and Rockwell v. Cook (SCOTUS).pdf
- U.S. Chamber Amicus Brief -- Dow and Rockwell v. Cook (SCOTUS).pdf
- American Nuclear Insurers Amicus Brief -- Dow and Rockwell v. Cook (SCOTUS).pdf
- Nuclear Energy Institute Amicus Brief -- Dow and Rockwell v. Cook (SCOTUS).pdf
- Reply for Cross-Petitioners -- Dow and Rockwell v. Cook (SCOTUS).pdf
- Reply to Brief in Opposition -- Dow and Rockwell v. Cook (SCOTUS).pdf