Bould(er)-faced Green Lawsuit’s Smell Test

Letter to Romans: There ARE frivolous lawsuits over existential worries. Colorado’s attempt to bilk fossil fuel companies for alleged pollution cleanup costs is an odorous example. And US Sup Ct will soon rule it doesn’t pass Constitution’s Supremacy smell test …

Not that progressive Colorado seems to care about the odds. As the WSJ notes, in recent years it’s “landed at the Court twice over wedding services for same-sex couples, defended a ban on so-called conversion therapy for LGBTQ youth & advocated for the removal of Donald Trump from the state’s 2024 ballot.” And now Colorado is actually arguing the US Supremes were wrong over a decade ago in unanimously ruling in AEP v Connecticut that the Clean Air Act pre-empts similar state nuisance claims related to Co2 emissions.” In short, the state is trying to evade the Court’s holding by suing oil & gas producers in state courts. It says the companies created a public nuisance & engaged in a “civil conspiracy” by selling products without warning about their climate effect. Not surprisingly, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled Boulder’s state claims aren’t pre-empted by federal law. It reasoned the state’s claims related to the production & marketing of fossil fuels, not their Co2 emissions. Right.

As the WSJ editors concluded: “This is a semantic distinction without a difference.” Put another way, it’s a Boulder-faced attempt to “extracting a big government payday” and/or force oil & gas companies to cease producing fossil fuels full stop. It stinks of course. But the US Supremes won’t be fooled by such legislative & legal gamesmanship.

Davd Soul