On October 2, 2026, Alston & Bird secured an important win for Chevron U.S.A. Inc. and ExxonMobil Corporation. The Superior Court of California dismissed on summary judgment the claim that defects in the design of our clients’ gasoline harmed a highway worker. The Los Angeles County trial court agreed with our argument that the plaintiff’s common-law products liability claims were preempted by the Clean Air Act, which directly regulates gasoline composition and attributes. The win establishes Clean Air Act preemption as an available tool to deter or defeat tort claims predicated on air emissions from vehicles and facilities.
Chevron and ExxonMobil were represented by Alston & Bird partners Jason Levin and Jennifer Bonneville and associate Jane Kaufman (Environmental, Land Use & Natural Resources).