Maryland cases were part of climate activists’ efforts to bankrupt oil companies
A Maryland judge dismissed two landmark lawsuits that accused some of the world’s largest oil and gas companies of causing climate change—a massive defeat for climate activists and Democrats who have increasingly turned to the judicial system to advance their agenda.
Judge Steven Platt of the Anne Arundel County District Court wrote in his decision tossing the cases brought by Anne Arundel County and the City of Annapolis on Thursday evening that counties and cities should not seek to use the courts to achieve climate policies such carbon emissions reductions. Platt added that he was persuaded by other state courts that have ruled that local jurisdictions cannot regulate global emissions.
The cases in Maryland were a part of a broader nationwide effort dating back several years to haul oil companies before state courts, accuse them of knowingly selling products that cause global warming, and force them to pay billions of dollars in damages, effectively putting them out of business. Anne Arundel County and Annapolis initiated their litigation in early 2021, making them some of the first jurisdictions to pursue such litigation.
Platt’s ruling represents a setback for activists who saw the cases as a key part of their fight to take down oil companies and stop global warming. In addition to local counties and cities like Anne Arundel and Annapolis, nine states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico—which altogether are home to more than 25 percent of Americans—have pursued similar litigation.
“The Court’s decision joins the growing and nearly unanimous consensus, among both federal and states courts across the country, that these types of claims are precluded and preempted by federal law and must be dismissed under clear U.S. Supreme Court precedent,” said Theodore Boutrous Jr., a lawyer for Chevron Corporation, one of the defendants in the cases.
“The Court held that ‘the U.S. Constitution’s federal structure does not allow the application of State Court claims’ like those presented here and that those claims are ‘federally preempted,’” he added.
BP, ExxonMobil, Citgo Petroleum, Shell, Phillips 66, Marathon Petroleum, Hess, and ConocoPhillips were also listed as defendants.
In a statement, Anne Arundel County spokeswoman Renesha Alphonso said the case was advanced at no cost to county residents and referred the Washington Free Beacon to Sher Edling, a law firm based in California. Sher Edling, which is funded by left-wing billionaire-backed nonprofits, represented both Anne Arundel and Annapolis. The firm, which has represented the majority of jurisdictions that have sued oil companies for climate damages in recent years, did not respond to a request for comment.
“The court’s decision to reconsider its previous ruling and dismiss these climate cases makes it clear that courts around the country are seeing through these lawsuits and recognizing that neither the law, nor common sense, subjects energy producers and sellers to liability for climate change,” said Phil Goldberg, special counsel for the Manufacturers’ Accountability Project, which opposes the lawsuits.
“As this court explained, most of the courts looking at this issue are finding that no state’s law can govern, let alone impose liability on, the production, promotion, and sale of energy around the world,” Goldberg continued. “At this point, it should be clear that lawsuits are a misguided approach to addressing the very real challenges of climate change and distract from real solutions that will allow the world to source and use energy in ways that are affordable and sustainable.”
“At this juncture, the City Attorney is keeping options open for what comes next,” Mitchelle Stephenson, a spokeswoman for Annapolis, added. “The basis for the litigation was to hold the companies to account for the damage their products have caused, which will result in significant and ongoing infrastructure costs to hold back floodwaters along our nearly two dozen miles of coastline. That is what will cost taxpayers real money for decades to come.” Stephenson said that, like Anne Arundel, Annapolis retained Sher Edling on contingency and that there was no direct cost to residents.
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