Supreme Court Allows Minnesota Climate Lawsuit to Go Forward in State Court

Justices Deny Fossil Fuel Industry Petitions for the Third Time in a Year

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Minnesota is now one step closer to putting ExxonMobil, the American Petroleum Institute, and Koch Industries on trial for deceiving consumers about how their fossil fuel products cause climate change, after the U.S. Supreme Court today denied the corporations’ appeal to stop the state’s lawsuit from proceeding in state court. The decision marks the third time in a year that the U.S. Supreme Court has turned down fossil fuel industry petitions to review jurisdiction in a climate deception lawsuit.  

In March, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit unanimously upheld a lower court’s decision to allow Minnesota’s consumer protection lawsuit to proceed in state court, where it was filed. In its order today, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the fossil fuel companies’ appeal of that ruling. The high court turned down similar petitions in April and May. 

Richard Wiles, president of the Center for Climate Integrity, released the following statement: 

“This decision is another step forward for Minnesota’s efforts to hold fossil fuel giants accountable for their climate lies and the harm they’ve caused. Big Oil companies will continue fighting to escape justice, but for the third time in a year, the U.S. Supreme Court has denied their desperate pleas to overturn the unanimous rulings of every single court to consider this issue.  After three strikes, it’s time for these polluters to give up their failed arguments to escape state courts and prepare to face the evidence of their climate deception at trial.” 

Background on Climate Accountability Lawsuits Against Big Oil: 

Since 2017, the attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont, and the District of Columbia, as well as municipal governments in California, Colorado, Hawai'i, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and South Carolina, have filed lawsuits in state court to hold major oil and gas companies accountable for deceiving the public about their products’ role in climate change. 

To date, eight federal appeals courts and more than a dozen federal district courts have unanimously ruled against the fossil fuel industry’s arguments to prevent these lawsuits from moving forward in state courts.

In March, the U.S. Justice Department added its support to the communities, urging the Supreme Court to deny ExxonMobil and Suncor Energy’s petition to hear a case brought by three Colorado communities.