Last Update: 04/05/2026 at 2:50 PM EST
Supreme Court Takes Climate Lawsuit Appeal
Coverage from Sierra Club, The Guardian, and others
Articles
7
Latest Article
03/30
Active Days
36
Executive Summary
The Supreme Court will hear a Boulder climate lawsuit appeal that could determine whether local governments can sue Big Oil in state court
- The Supreme Court agreed to hear ExxonMobil and Suncor's appeal in Boulder v Exxon and Suncor
- The case centers on whether local climate damage claims belong in state or federal court
- Colorado courts had allowed the Boulder-area lawsuits to move toward trial
- The plaintiffs say oil companies misled the public about climate harms and should pay mitigation costs
- The suit seeks damages for flooding, wildfire, drought, heat, snowpack loss, and public health impacts
- The companies argue the claims are preempted by federal law under the Clean Air Act
- The Court also asked whether it has jurisdiction before any trial on the merits
Quick Facts
- What: A climate liability appeal over state court lawsuits
- Where: Boulder Colorado and the US Supreme Court
- Why: To decide whether local climate damage claims can proceed
- Who: Boulder officials ExxonMobil Suncor and the Supreme Court
- When: The Court agreed to hear it in 2025
Coverage Timeline: 36 Days
Featured Article
Colorado wildfire plaintiffs seek climate-damages recovery from fossil fuel companies as the U.S. Supreme Court agrees to hear a Colorado-related preemption and liability case in 2021.
Additional Articles
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Noah Walker-Crawford reports in Transnational Environmental Law that major fossil fuel companies shift climate-litigation defenses by contesting causation, attribution standards, and expert credibility across Peru, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United States.
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U.S. Supreme Court will hear appeals affecting whether Colorado and other U.S. localities can pursue fossil fuel climate tort liability amid federal preemption and jurisdiction disputes after EPA endangerment-finding rescission.
Vermont defended in federal court a Superfund-modeled 2024 climate-damages law while the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, API, and DOJ challenged constitutionality and federal preemption.
SCOTUS agreed to hear Boulder v. Exxon and Suncor, a climate accountability case that may determine whether plaintiffs can pursue state-court deception and damages claims.
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Supreme Court will hear a Boulder climate liability case on February 23 in the United States.
ExxonMobil and Suncor appeal Boulder climate liability case to the Supreme Court in 2025.