The People’s Republik Of California could avoid this altogether by banning the use of fossil fuels in the state
Calif. climate change lawsuits paused during SCOTUS review
Lawsuits over climate change in California will be on hold while the U.S. Supreme Court decides whether they can be pursued.
San Francisco Judge Ethan Schulman Tuesday issued a stay of the litigation, finding it would “be in the interests of justice” to do so while the Supreme Court makes its decision in Boulder’s lawsuit against Suncor.
Dozens of lawsuits brought by government officials who hired private lawyers on contingency fees have been filed through the years, though only Hawaii’s and Colorado’s supreme courts have let them progress past Big Oil’s motions to dismiss. Most recently, the Maryland Supreme Court affirmed dismissals of cases by Annapolis and Baltimore, finding they “cannot be seriously contemplated.”
Though they make claims for public nuisance and violations of consumer protection laws, defendants and the Trump administration assert they are improper attempts to influence the international energy market. State judges in Pennsylvania, South Carolina, New York, Maryland and New Jersey have agreed.
“Pausing wasteful and nonsensical claims that 50 US states and their subdivisions should set global climate policy through lawsuits is a victory for common sense and reliable energy,” said Theodore Boutrous, Jr. of Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher, who represents Chevron.
I wonder if one of the Conservative justices will note that most of the cities and counties suing have failed to give up their own use of fossil fuels for their operations.
The cases consolidated in San Francisco include the State of California’s, San Mateo County’s, Marin County’s, Oakland’s, Imperial Beach’s, Santa Cruz’s, Richmond’s and San Francisco’s.
Jackpot-seeking lawyers crafted their complaints to claim companies like Exxon tricked the public into using fossil fuels. They were also designed to stay out of federal court, where the energy industry could have mounted an even stronger defense.
These are all shakedown suits. That’s it.
