Brown-Forman Corporation and Heaven Hill Distilleries, Inc. v. George Miller

Summary

The Kentucky Supreme Court considered whether the federal Clean Air Act preempted George Miller's state-law claims arising from ethanol emissions and related whiskey fungus from nearby bourbon warehouses. The court held that the Act did not preempt Miller's claims for damages based on negligence, private nuisance, and trespass, but concluded that the requested injunction requiring pollution-control technology was inappropriate because the companies were operating under valid permits. The court affirmed in part and reversed and remanded in part.

Holdings

1. The Clean Air Act does not preempt Miller's state-law claims for negligence, private nuisance, or trespass seeking monetary damages for particularized harm to specific property.
2. The Clean Air Act does not categorically preempt injunctive relief linked to state tort law because the citizen-suit provision is not an exclusive remedy and does not revoke other available remedies.
3. The requested injunction was unavailable and failed to state a claim because it would require permitted facilities to adopt pollution-control technology not required by their permits and would improperly second-guess regulatory decisions entrusted to the EPA and Metro District.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the federal Clean Air Act preempts Miller's Kentucky common-law tort claims seeking damages for particularized harm to his property.
2. Whether the Clean Air Act preempts state-law injunctive relief based on nuisance when the defendants operate in compliance with permits issued after regulatory balancing of environmental and economic factors.
3. Whether the requested injunction stated a claim upon which relief could be granted.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded