The U.S. Department of Justice yesterday asked the Supreme Court to deny two requests for the high court to intervene in state and local cases that hold oil giants liable for lying to the public about the role their products play in climate change. did. A brief filed late yesterday in Sunoko et al. v. Honolulu and the State of Alabama, et al. v. California et al. This is the second and third time the Biden administration has filed briefs asking the high court to allow such cases to proceed in state court, according to Attorney General Elizabeth Preloger.
Richard Wiles, director of the Center for Climate Integrity, issued the following statement:
“The Department of Justice reaffirms that communities deserve their day in court to hold Big Oil companies to justice for their lies about climate change and the resulting harms. Desperate to avoid facing evidence of one’s deception, wanting to escape the consequences of one’s actions is not the same as having the law on one’s side.
Alyssa Joll, Vice President of General Counsel and General Counsel at the Center for Climate Health, issued the following statement:
“As the Attorney General has made clear, there is no legal basis for the Supreme Court to intervene in these cases. State and local governments seek to hold companies accountable for lying about harmful products, and states The courts have the power to hear these claims. Judges should reject these frivolous demands and allow communities to have their day in court to hold big oil companies accountable. ”
Background of City and County of Honolulu v. Sunoko et al.
The oil companies are asking the judge to consider the Hawaii Supreme Court’s decision in City and County of Honolulu v. Sunoco et al. The group aims to make major oil and gas companies, including ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, and BP, pay for regional climate damage caused by their decades-long deceptions about the dangers of fossil fuel products. I’m trying. The fossil fuel industry and its supporters have waged a massive media campaign in recent months to try to influence the courts to take action. Justice Alito recused himself from the case.
In a brief yesterday asking the Supreme Court to deny Big Oil’s petition, the Justice Department said that Honolulu’s claims “partly because they target only fossil fuels, We agreed with the Hawaii Supreme Court’s opinion that the Clean-Up Act does not categorically give priority to appellant’s claims.” deceptive marketing of fuel) products. ”
Background of Alabama et al. v. California et al.
In a separate petition, 19 state attorneys general seek to block climate fraud lawsuits filed by California, Connecticut, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Rhode Island against big oil companies in their respective state courts. We are asking the Supreme Court to do so. Legal scholars called Alabama and other states. v. California et al. Described as “highly unusual,” the attorneys general of Minnesota, Connecticut, and New Jersey each called the effort “ridiculous,” “pure partisan political theater,” and a “desperate stunt.”
In a brief yesterday asking the Supreme Court to deny the state attorney general’s request, the Justice Department wrote: “It is the jurisdiction of state courts to determine the scope of state law…and there is no reason for this court to address defendant’s constitutionality.” The arguments in each state’s court address these issues of state law. ”
Background to the US climate liability lawsuit against Big Oil:
11 attorneys general from California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, and dozens of city, county, and tribal governments in California, Colorado, and Hawaii. Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Washington, Puerto Rico and others are suing major oil and gas companies for misleading the public about the role their products play in climate change. I woke you up. Together, these cases represent more than 1 in 4 people living in the United States. Earlier this year, Michigan’s attorney general announced plans to take fossil fuel companies to court.
