Judge dismisses climate change lawsuit against oil companies by Annapolis,

A gas flare from the Shell Chemical LP petroleum refinery illuminates the sky in August, 2019, in Norco, Louisiana. A circuit court ruled this week that local governments cannot sue oil companies for their role in climate change (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Anne Arundel County and the city of Annapolis cannot sue oil companies for their role in driving the climate change that has had “devastating adverse impacts” on the jurisdictions and their residents, a judge ruled this week.

Anne Arundel County Circuit Judge Steven Platt on Thursday dismissed the suits by the city and county against a raft of fossil fuel companies, including BP, Shell, Citgo and more, saying federal law preempted the state law claims against the oil companies.

Anne Arundel County Attorney Gregory Swain said Friday that while the county “respects the court’s decision,” it plans to appeal Platt’s ruling. A call seeking comment from the Annapolis City Attorney’s Office was not returned Friday.

But an attorney for the Chevron Corp. welcomed Platt’s ruling.

“The Court’s decision joins the growing and nearly unanimous consensus, among both federal and states courts across the country, that these types of claims are precluded and preempted by federal law and must be dismissed under clear U.S. Supreme Court precedent,” said the attorney, Theodore J. Boutrous Jr., in a prepared statement.

SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE

Platt’s order was the latest development in a case that began in 2021, two of a number of lawsuits across the country filed by state and local governments seeking to recover damages from the fossil fuel industry for climate change.

The Anne Arundel and Annapolis suits claimed that the oil companies had known for decades about the harmful impact of greenhouse gases created by their products, but that they hid that information from consumers or attempted to counter it so that they could keep profiting from the sale of fossil fuels.

Meanwhile, climate change driven by the use of fossil fuels was resultin in “devastating economic and public health impacts” affecting residents throughout the county, but particularly hurting “people of color, people living in poverty, and other vulnerable communities,” according to the original suit. It claimed the companies were guilty of creating a public nuisance, failure to warn, conspiracy and of violating the Consumer Protection Act, among other claims.

Platt’s decision to dismiss is a reversal from last year, when he rejected an attempt by the oil companies to dismiss the lawsuits. His decision to dismiss the cases Thursday followed rulings in other courts around the country, including a nearly identical case in Baltimore, in which judges threw out the suits. In those rulings, in local, state and federal courts, courts said that federal law preempted the state law claims being made in the cases.

More in U.S.

Platt cited those rulings, but particularly the ruling by Baltimore City Circuit Judge Videtta Brown for his decision to change his position.

“The Court acknowledges being persuaded on this second go-round by the Defendants authorities and Judge Videtta A. Brown’s logic,” Platt wrote. “This Court therefore holds that the U.S. Constitution’s federal structure does not allow the application of State Court claims like those presented in the instant cases.”

EMEA Tribune is not involved in this news article, it is taken from our partners and or from the News Agencies. Copyright and Credit go to the News Agencies, email news@emeatribune.com Follow our WhatsApp verified Channel