Follow your curiosity

What discovery has been shared with you?

FACTREE gives you something interesting to discover every day — and something worth talking about together.

Start with one fact. Explore it, go deeper, then follow whichever branch catches your imagination.

Choose subjects for a surprise

Exploring any topic

Begin your discovery

Your next discovery is one click away.

Choose one or more subjects above, or leave Any Topic selected and let curiosity decide.

Law

Parens Patriae in State Litigation Against Federal Agencies

Quick fact

In 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed Massachusetts to sue the EPA over greenhouse gas regulation, invoking a special form of parens patriae based on the state's ownership of coastal land, even though individual citizens could not have sued.

Why this is interesting

Could your state sue the federal government on behalf of you and every other resident, even if you've suffered no specific injury? The answer depends on a centuries-old doctrine called parens patriae.