Attorney General Bonta Co-Leads Amicus Brief Supporting Boulder’s Efforts to Hold Big Oil Accountable for Misleading the Public and Worsening the Climate Crisis

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today, alongside Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, co-led a multistate coalition of 19 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of Boulder County and the City of Boulder in their climate deception case, Suncor Energy (U.S.A.) Inc. v. County Commissioners of Boulder County. In the amicus brief, the coalition argues that federal law does not preempt state-law tort claims like Boulder’s. 

“For decades, Big Oil has relied on deceptive tactics to mislead consumers about the harms of fossil fuel use, and states have a duty to protect the welfare of our residents from those harms,” said Attorney General Bonta. “In today’s amicus brief, we’re supporting Boulder’s efforts to hold accountable corporations looking to line their pockets at the expense of the health and well-being of the American people. States and local governments have the right to turn to their own states’ laws to seek accountability and justice, and we urge the Court to preserve that right.” 

The case stems from a lawsuit filed by Boulder County and the City of Boulder against several fossil fuel companies seeking damages for alleged harms related to climate change. The companies asked the U.S.Supreme Court to review the case before Colorado's courts have finished considering it. In addition to agreeing to hear the appeal, the U.S. Supreme Court directed the parties to address whether it has the authority to hear the case at this stage of the litigation.

The coalition contends that the U.S. Supreme Court should first determine whether it has the authority to hear the case. If it does not, the lawsuit should continue in Colorado's courts. The attorneys general assert that process protects the longstanding role of state courts.

The attorneys general also argue that the court's decision could affect far more than this case. States across the country rely on their courts to decide state common law claims, and the coalition warns that allowing federal courts to intervene before state court proceedings are complete could have consequences well beyond climate litigation.

The brief further explains that states should not lose their authority to apply state law simply because a case involves issues that cross state lines. The attorneys general say the Constitution does not automatically prevent states from hearing these claims. 

Finally, the coalition notes that state courts already have well-established legal rules for determining whether claims should proceed. Those decisions, the attorneys general write, should be made through the normal judicial process rather than through a broad new federal rule.

In filing the brief, Attorney General Bonta and Attorney General Weiser are joined by the attorneys general of Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai‘I, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.