Huge oil companies, in a Supreme Court filing, are bashing the Biden administration posture that various city and state climate lawsuits against the industry should be heard in state courts, Ben writes.
Why it matters: This week’s brief is the latest move in a high-stakes industry petition to persuade the high court to hear a case on the venue questions.
Driving the news: Lawyers for Exxon and Suncor — who face litigation from city and county officials in Boulder, Colo. — say the Biden administration “casually junked” the Trump-era stance out of a “desire to signal virtue to political bedfellows who are behind these lawsuits.”
The big picture: State and local governments, in roughly two dozen cases nationwide, are seeking damages from various companies for climate-related harms.
Oil companies want the cases heard in federal instead of state courts, which are generally seen as friendlier venues for plaintiffs. Reuters has more.
