Honolulu, Baltimore, Charleston, S.C. and several other cities harmed by rising seas and extreme weather are suing the oil industry. At stake is who pays for the staggering costs of climate change.
On April 24, however, [oil companies] lost one of their most powerful arguments.
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear challenges in the Hawaii case and four others involving the seemingly technical question of which court should hear these cases: state or federal.
The oil companies had “removed” the cases from state court to federal court, arguing that damage lawsuits for climate change go beyond the limits of state law and are governed by federal law.
That theory would have derailed all five cases – because there is no federal common law for greenhouse gases.