News & Analysis
May 13, 2024
New York City is one step closer to putting Big Oil companies on trial for their climate lies after a federal court rejected the industry’s latest efforts to escape accountability in state court.
The Big Apple sued ExxonMobil, Shell, BP, and the American Petroleum Institute in 2021 for engaging in deceptive trade practices “about the central role their products play in causing the climate crisis,” in violation of the city’s consumer protection law. For years, the companies have fought to stop the case from advancing in state court.
But in a ruling last week, U.S. District Court Judge Valerie Caproni rejected those efforts, calling some of the oil industry’s arguments “ridiculous,” “unpersuasive,” and “absurd.” Caproni wrote that the “silliest of all” the oil companies’ arguments against the case moving forward in state court was their claim that because their TV advertising — which the city alleges include deceptive and misleading claims about their products — and other activities reach federal jurisdictions, such as Ellis Island, that the case should be heard in federal court.
“[T]his Court joins the overwhelming majority of federal district and circuit courts around the country to conclude that these municipal law claims belong in state court,” Caproni wrote. The judge also ruled that the oil companies must pay for the majority of the city’s costs and fees incurred during the recent motion.
Caproni’s decision continues the unending winning streak for state and local governments seeking to put Big Oil on trial in state court. Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court declined — for the third time — to consider Big Oil’s appeal of those decisions. Even as New York City residents can celebrate this win, they have still been robbed of the time that this delay tactic from Big Oil has consumed.
“The city deserves its day in court to hold these defendants accountable for their false and misleading statements to New York City consumers,” Hilary Meltzer, New York City’s Chief of the Environmental Law Division, told E&E News. “It’s time to get to the merits of this case.”
