The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled Monday that states and conservation groups can sue power companies for allegedly contributing to global warming. The decision reverses a district court judge's opinion that the courts need an "initial policy determination" from the elected branches of government before taking on global warming nuisance claims.

In case anyone missed it, the U.S. Supreme Court left a chorus of Verrilli critics eating some serious crow on Thursday morning.

Four years ago, hoping to keep a trade secrets dispute brought by rival hard drive manufacturer Seagate Technology under wraps, Western Digital Corp. persuaded a state court judge in Minnesota to send the case to arbitration. On Monday Western Digital's shareholders finally discovered how high the stakes had been in the case.