Decision Marks the Fifth Straight Circuit Court Loss for Fossil Fuel Companies After the U.S. Supreme Court Ordered Expanded Review of Arguments for Federal Jurisdiction in Climate Accountability Lawsuits
HAWAII — In the latest victory for communities seeking to hold major oil and gas corporations accountable for the costs of climate damages they knowingly caused, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit today ruled that a pair of lawsuits from Honolulu and Maui can proceed in state court, where they were originally filed.
Honolulu’s lawsuit won a major state court victory in March that has set that community on a path to become the first in the country to put oil majors on trial in state court for climate damages.
Today’s decision marks the second such ruling from the Ninth Circuit this year, and the fifth overall appellate court ruling to reject an expanded list of arguments from the oil industry to move climate liability lawsuits filed in state court to federal court following a 2021 U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
In April, a separate Ninth Circuit panel ruled that climate damages lawsuits from six California cities and counties could proceed in state court.
In response, Richard Wiles, president of the Center for Climate Integrity, released the following statement:
“Once again Big Oil companies tried to escape accountability, and once again they failed. The people of Honolulu and Maui are paying the price for Big Oil’s climate deception. It’s time for them to have their day in state court to make these corporations pay their fair share of the damages they caused.”