The U.S. Supreme Court denied applications by fossil fuel companies to halt three climate liability lawsuits against them. The court’s order allows the cases filed by Baltimore, Rhode Island and three Colorado communities to proceed in state court while the companies pursue appeals to move the cases to federal court. The Supreme Court rulings, issued Tuesday, continue a string of rejections of the companies’ attempts to stay the litigation. The suits contend that the companies engaged in campaigns to undermine climate science and mislead the public on the role of fossil fuels. In each, the cases were filed in state courts. But fossil fuel companies are fighting to have them heard in federal court, where they have largely been successful in fending off earlier climate lawsuits.
By Dana Drugmand. Climate Liability News. October 23, 2019.
