Puerto Rico's Climate Lawfare Campaign experiences another setback with the dismissal of its deals.
In a significant ruling, Federal District Judge Silvia Carreño-Coll dismissed a lawsuit against oil company defendants in Puerto Rico, brought by thirty-seven municipalities, on September 11, 2022. This marks the 11th time a federal or state court has ruled in favor of the defendants to dismiss a case at the motion to dismiss phase.
The lawsuit, which sought to hold the companies liable for damages Puerto Rico suffered as a result of Hurricane Maria in 2017, was dismissed largely due to the case being brought after the four-year statute of limitations had expired.
Judge Carreño-Coll also ruled that the plaintiffs failed to establish that all the ten named defendants had sufficient connections to Puerto Rico to justify the filing of the lawsuit. The only contact with Puerto Rico alleged in the case was membership in trade associations, which were 'performed in the US with US groups and targeted US legislation and the US public.'
The American Petroleum Institute's general counsel, Ryan Meyers, was quoted by the New York Times, stating that climate policy should be decided by Congress, not the courts. Meyers characterized the long-running lawfare campaign as an 'ongoing, coordinated campaign to wage meritless, politicized lawsuits against a foundational American industry and its workers.'
Most federal and state judges who decide these lawfare cases seem to agree with Meyers' assessment. The civil justice system exists to resolve current disputes, not to attack and second-guess policy resolutions that have been widely discussed since the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson, as counsel for Chevron, Theodore Boutrous, Jr., stated in the case.
However, Richard Wiles, president of the Center for Climate Integrity, stated that the door is still open for others to bring similar racketeering claims against the fossil fuel industry. The plaintiffs' case suffers from the risk of opening the door to state and local regulation of air emissions, an area consistently ruled to be the sole province of the federal government under the Clean Air Act.
Phil Goldberg, Special Counsel for the Manufacturers' Accountability Project, said in a statement that the decision to dismiss the case represents a strong trend among courts nationwide that these cases are legally unsound and counterproductive. Goldberg urged policymakers to focus on collaborative efforts that deliver real and lasting climate solutions.
There are still ongoing cases brought by the city and county of Boulder, Colorado, and the city and county of Honolulu, Hawaii, making their way through the court system. As the legal landscape continues to evolve, it remains to be seen how these cases will ultimately be resolved.
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