In another loss for Big Oil, judge sends Oakland, San Francisco climate lawsuits back to state court

Five years after the cities took action against major climate polluters, Oakland and San Francisco’s lawsuits are finally back on a path toward trial. 

Lawsuits from Oakland and San Francisco that seek to hold five major oil and gas corporations accountable for deceiving the public about their products’ role in climate change can proceed in state court, U.S. District Judge William Alsup ruled yesterday. 

The ruling is a major defeat for BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, and Shell, which have fought desperately to escape trials in state court in a growing number of climate accountability lawsuits. To date, Alsup had been the only judge in the nation to agree with the fossil fuel industry’s arguments to move the cases out of state court, but his 2018 decision was overturned by a federal appeals court. 

Now, Big Oil cannot point to a single judge in the country who has agreed with their arguments to avoid accountability in state court. These polluters may have delayed justice, but the people of San Francisco and Oakland are now one important step closer to finally putting them on trial for their climate deception. 

“It is time to head towards the merits of the matter so our residents, businesses, and taxpayers can have their day in court and we can hold these Defendants accountable,” said San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu and Oakland City Attorney Barbara J. Parker in a joint statement. 

Judge Alsup originally dismissed the cities’ lawsuits in 2018, but the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned that ruling in 2020, finding that he did not have jurisdiction to hear the cases, and sent the cases back to Alsup for reconsideration. In 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a request from the oil and gas defendants for the high court to review the Ninth Circuit’s ruling. 

Judge Alsup’s decision this week identifies corporate deception as an issue suited for state courts, noting that in California, “affirmative and misleading promotion is one way a defendant can create or assist in creating a public nuisance[.]” 

Alsup is now the 12th federal district court judge to rule that climate accountability lawsuits filed in state court can proceed in state court. Five federal appeals courts have affirmed those rulings, with two more still pending.