News & Analysis
July 6, 2023
Charleston, South Carolina, this week became the latest community to move closer to putting Big Oil companies on trial for their climate lies, after a federal judge ruled that the city’s climate accountability lawsuit could proceed in state court, where it was filed.
Fossil fuel companies have desperately sought to escape facing discovery and ultimately trial in state court in a growing number of climate lawsuits, but they have lost every single effort to date. After ruling that Charleston’s lawsuit against 24 oil and gas companies should move forward in state court, U.S. District Judge Richard Mark Gergel became the 15th district court judge to reject Big Oil’s arguments, maintaining what another judge has described as “a batting average of .000” for the fossil fuel industry.
In 2020, Charleston became the first city in the U.S. South to take oil and gas companies to court to hold them accountable for decades of climate deception and make them pay for the damage they knew their products would cause. The low-lying coastal city faces billions in costs to protect communities and infrastructure from rising seas and floods.
Now, thanks to this week’s ruling, Charleston joins the growing ranks of communities that are moving closer to their day in court against Big Oil.
Six federal circuit courts have upheld rulings that allow similar lawsuits filed in state court to proceed there, including the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over South Carolina. In April and May, the U.S. Supreme Court denied Big Oil requests for the justices to consider the appeals of those lower court rulings.
Image by North Charleston on Flickr
