Supreme Court Weighs Oil Companies’ Right To Never Pay

The Supreme Court considered this week whether Boulder, Colorado, may continue suing ExxonMobil and Suncor in state court for allegedly misleading the public about fossil fuels and climate change, a dangerous legal theory under which corporations could occasionally pay for damage rather than receive a commemorative tax credit for causing it. The companies argued that climate change is too large and interstate to be addressed by Colorado courts, unlike oil profits, which remain sufficiently local to be deposited wherever taxes are lowest.

At stake are billions of dollars and the nation’s longstanding constitutional principle that pollution becomes nobody’s fault once wind carries it across a state line. Lawyers for the companies warned that allowing Boulder’s case to proceed could inspire cities nationwide to seek compensation for fires, floods, droughts and heat waves previously blamed on homeowners who failed to rake the atmosphere. President Donald Trump endorsed the industry’s position. “We love accountability, tremendous accountability, but it belongs with families, drivers and perhaps children, not the beautiful oil companies, which had no idea that burning oil involved fire, smoke or any burning whatsoever,” Trump said.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh raised the possibility that interstate pollution belongs under federal authority, offering the companies a more dependable venue where urgent national problems can be stored in a jurisdictional filing cabinet until the plaintiffs, judges and coastal municipalities are gone. Justice Samuel Alito recused himself amid scrutiny involving oil-company stock holdings, depriving the Court of valuable firsthand consumer experience and forcing the remaining justices to evaluate the industry without checking their portfolios.

A ruling for Boulder could permit similar lawsuits around the country and establish the radical precedent that public relations campaigns have consequences. A ruling for ExxonMobil and Suncor would preserve the more efficient arrangement under which taxpayers finance disaster recovery, homeowners absorb insurance increases and energy companies heroically endure record revenue. The justices appeared divided over whether Colorado residents may seek damages locally or must mail their wildfire invoices to Congress, where lawmakers can convert them into campaign contributions. Oil companies cannot be held responsible for selling oil because responsibility, unlike carbon, does not cross state lines.

* None of the quotes in this article were spoken by an actual person. More info.