In a win for Delaware and Hoboken, Supreme Court rejects Big Oil again

Two lawsuits that seek to make fossil fuel companies pay for climate damages can now continue proceeding toward trial in state court.

In another victory for communities fighting to hold Big Oil companies accountable for their role in the climate crisis, the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday denied fossil fuel industry requests to review lower court rulings that allow lawsuits from Delaware and Hoboken, New Jersey, to proceed toward trial in state court. 

The two lawsuits — both filed in 2020 — seek to make ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, Shell, and other major fossil fuel companies stop lying to consumers about the role of fossil fuels in climate change and make the polluters pay for the costs to protect residents from rising seas, floods, and other climate damages the companies knew for decades their products would cause. 

Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla applauded the news. “The city is committed to holding Big Oil accountable for their campaign of deception and its disastrous impact on the environment, which Hoboken taxpayers have had to bear the brunt of for decades.”

Last year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed lower court rulings that allowed Delaware’s and Hoboken’s lawsuits to proceed in state court, where they were filed. The U.S. Supreme Court denied fossil fuel industry requests last month to review similar lower court rulings against Big Oil companies in climate accountability lawsuits in five other states. 

Now, thanks to the Supreme Court’s decision, Delaware and Hoboken join the growing list of communities that are one step closer to putting polluters on trial for their climate lies.