Climate scientist targeted by lawsuit gets $250 for the hassle

Michael Mann, a climate scientist at Penn State University, is famous for publishing the "hockey stick" graph, which shows that current temperatures rise well above any natural variability we've experienced during the last 1,500 years. He also achieved a bit of inadvertent fame when some of the e-mails he'd exchanged with other climate researchers were included in a cache of documents stolen from the University of East Anglia. Since then, various groups have been attempting to get at the full record of Mann's e-mailing.

Most of the action focused on Mann's former employer, the University of Virginia. The former state attorney general, Ken Cuccinelli, decided that Mann must be guilty of some form of research fraud, and he sued to get Mann's records. That case was thrown out because there were no actual allegations of fraud. Separately, a private think tank called the American Tradition Institute (ATI) attempted to obtain the e-mails using a state Freedom of Information Act request, arguing that the University of Virginia is a state school. That attempt was also denied.

Now Mann has achieved a small bit of satisfaction, as a ruling has declared the suit from the ATI a nuisance. The nuisance ruling had made its way to the Virginia Supreme Court, but the court declared that there were no legal errors that gave ATI grounds for an appeal. For their troubles, the University and Mann will get to split a fine of $250. Mann told Ars, "It is a small amount of money, but a clear statement—and slap in ATI's face—by the judge."