The US Supreme Court has scheduled a date to hear arguments on whether local government officials and private lawyers can pursue lawsuits that impact the international energy market. The case, an appeal of a Colorado ruling, will be heard on October 5.
Background
Cities, counties, and states have filed close to 40 climate change lawsuits against companies like Chevron and Exxon across the country. Many judges have agreed with the argument that these lawsuits step on the job of federal regulators, but the supreme courts of Colorado and Hawaii have not.
Private lawyers working on contingency fees have scored contracts with local officials and crafted their complaints in a way that keeps them out of federal court. The lawsuits claim that the public would not have purchased as many fossil-fuel products had Big Oil not lied about their harms.
Arguments
Sen. Ted Cruz’s brief argues that the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling is mistaken. The American Association for Justice, on the other hand, argues that air and water pollution have long been matters for state regulation.
The Trump administration has issued an executive order forbidding any new cases, but lost a legal battle with Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez last month. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall led a group of 26 states that said Boulder is trying to assert a power with no analogue in the nation’s history.
Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.
