Municipal lawsuits against oil companies filed in state courts will now remain in those courts, as the US Supreme Court rejected attempts by Exxon Mobil, Chevron, BP, and other companies to move the lawsuits to federal courts.
This decision means that cities seeking to hold energy companies accountable for the harms caused by burning hydrocarbons will continue their legal battles in state courts, which are generally seen as more aligned with such claims.
There are numerous climate change lawsuits pending in state courts across the country, and the Biden Administration supports keeping them at the state level, as state courts are typically considered more liberal than federal courts on climate-related issues, and President Biden wants to see more pain inflicted on oil companies, but not pain associated with the White House.
For several years, oil companies have been facing over two dozen climate change lawsuits at various levels of the US court system, seeking damages related to climate change impacts. Many of these lawsuits allege that the oil companies were aware of the dangers of fossil fuels and engaged in fraud and created a public nuisance. Resolving these claims in federal courts has been challenging, according to observers.
In the recent Supreme Court decision, Justice Brett Kavanaugh was the only justice who favored moving a lawsuit filed in Boulder, Colo., to a federal court. Other cases are pending in states such as Maryland, Hawaii, Rhode Island, and California.
The court’s ruling did not indicate how the Supremes would decide the merits of the cases.
