Home Economy Government Chevron Corp.’s motion to dismiss state climate change lawsuit rejected

Chevron Corp.’s motion to dismiss state climate change lawsuit rejected

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PBN Staff

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04/25/2025

eDpKSeRA-gavel — AN R.I. SUPERIOR Court judge has rejected an attempt by Chevron Corp. to get the state’s long-running climate change lawsuit dismissed. / PBN FILE PHOTO

PROVIDENCE – An R.I. Superior Court judge has rejected an attempt by one of the 21 fossil fuel companies seeking to dismiss the state’s case in a climate change lawsuit. In a decision on April 22, Associate Justice William E. Carnes set aside Chevron Corp.’s arguments, concluding there was no evidence the state violated Rule

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PROVIDENCE – An R.I. Superior Court judge has rejected an attempt by one of the 21 fossil fuel companies seeking to dismiss the state’s case in a climate change lawsuit. In a decision on April 22, Associate Justice William E. Carnes set aside Chevron Corp.’s arguments, concluding there was no evidence the state violated Rule 11 of the Superior Court Rules of Civil Procedure. Chevron claimed “the state lacked reasonable or good faith basis for the contested clauses when the state filed its complaint, and Chevron contends that the state did not have a good faith basis for its factual allegations as it pertains to the four jurisdictional contentions,” according to Carnes' 15-page decision. In the decision, Carnes concluded: ”The court does not find that Chevron's conduct falls within behavior that requires the court to order sanctions because there are legitimate reasons why the case is in its present stage six years after the complaint was filed and not for improper purposes. The court must balance competing concerns when evaluating whether to issue sanctions because sanctions "can haunt an attorney throughout his or her career" with "ramifications [that] go far beyond the particular case." First filed in 2018 by then-R.I. Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin, the lawsuit made Rhode Island the first state to bring a climate change lawsuit against 21 major fossil fuel companies, including Chevron, Shell Oil Products Co. and Exxon Mobil Corp., alleging repeated violations of the state’s Environmental Rights Act that adversely harmed Rhode Island’s public resources. In April 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up a petition by the fossil fuel companies seeking to move the case to federal court, paving the way for a trial in R.I. Superior Court. In May 2022, the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the lawsuit should be remanded to state court. This was followed by another ruling by the same court denying a petition for a panel review of the May decision. State courts are widely considered by legal experts to be more favorable to plaintiffs. The oil companies have sought to force state and local governments to pursue lawsuits alleging climate damage in federal court, arguing their claims are preempted by federal law. Both sides made their arguments in Providence Superior Court on April 16. The next hearing for the lawsuit is slated for May 8.