Boulder, Colorado, and Rio Blanco County filed a lawsuit against Suncor and Exxon Mobil seeking damages for costs associated with climate-related disasters including heat waves, wildfires, and flooding. The oil companies have moved to dismiss the case or have it transferred to federal court, arguing that federal law and constitutional limits on state power should prevent the lawsuit from proceeding in Colorado state courts.
The case has attracted an unusual coalition of supporters for Boulder’s position. Colorado ranchers, including those who experienced severe losses during recent wildfires and droughts, have organized to urge the Supreme Court to allow the lawsuit to advance. Deirdre Macnab, a rancher in Rio Blanco County, mobilized fellow ranchers after learning that her own county had filed briefs supporting the oil companies, spending taxpayer dollars on legal fees to do so. The ranchers argue that local governments cannot continue absorbing mounting costs from climate-related disasters while maintaining resources needed to support agricultural operations.
Beyond the ranching community, some conservative legal scholars have also sided with Boulder’s position. Jonathan Adler, an environmental law professor at William & Mary Law School, and two former EPA administrators under Republican presidents—Christine Todd Whitman and William Reilly—have argued that federal law and the Constitution do not prevent the lawsuit from proceeding in state court. They contend that the ability to bring such claims represents a centuries-old common law principle.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in the case. A significant development occurred when Justice Samuel Alito, a conservative justice with financial holdings in oil companies, recused himself from the proceedings, potentially affecting the industry’s chances of securing a five-justice majority. The outcome could have far-reaching implications for dozens of climate lawsuits brought by state and local governments against fossil fuel companies, with billions of dollars potentially at stake.
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