Plaintiffs in Native Village of Kivalina v. Exxon Corp, one of several tort-based lawsuits filed against major energy companies seeking damages related to climate change, are appealing a district court’s dismissal of their lawsuit to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit . In Kivalina, a small, primarily-Eskimo village situated on a barrier reef that is disappearing from Alaska’s northwest coast — allegedly due to rising water levels — is seeking damages from 19 of the country’s biggest oil companies for their alleged contribution to global warming... two similar “nuisance” cases, both of which were also dismissed on standing and political question grounds at the district court level, were reinstated on appeal...