Climate Lawsuits Face Setbacks As They Raise Major Public Policy Issues

Climate Lawsuits Face Setbacks As They Raise Major Public Policy Issues

Share to Linkedin WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 24: Rain clouds hang above The U. S. Supreme Court building May 24, 2021 in ... [+] Washington, DC. The court, which is still meeting remotely due to COVID-19, handed down opinions in two cases, Guam v. United States and United States. v. Palomar-Santiago. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) The drive to litigate public policy over climate change took some hits the last two weeks in the United States Supreme Court. First, last Monday in the case of Mayor and City Council of Baltimore v. BP P. L. C. et al., Justice Neil Gorsuch issued a very technical ruling that sent back to the lower Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals the question of in what forum a municipality can sue an energy company for actions that the municipality claims have wrongfully contributed to climate change. Then yesterday, the Supreme Court followed that up by sending back to Federal District Courts three other lawsuits against oil and gas companies for reconsideration of proper forum in light of the Baltimore ruling. The plaintiffs desire to sue in state court using traditional tort doctrines like "nuisance" and the like. It is a common belief that state