• Here’s what happened: A group of former government officials, ex-military personnel and legal scholars has joined the movement urging the U.S. Supreme Court to review Hawaii’s climate nuisance lawsuit.
  • Tell me more: The group includes former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr, former chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, law professors and other legal experts who argue that allowing the case to proceed would seriously harm the nation’s economic stability, diplomacy and military capabilities.

• • ICYMI: Texas joined 19 other states on an amicus brief urging the SCOTUS to determine, once and for all, if state courts are the appropriate venue for these lawsuits.

• • What else? Hawaii Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald’s ties to the environmental groups and plaintiffs lawyers involved in the case are raising major alarm bells.

• • Why it matters: SCOTUS’ decision could be a defining moment for climate nuisance litigation, either reining in or opening the floodgates to more of these lawsuits around the country.

• • In their words: “If Hawaii and like-minded states succeed in imposing an unwieldy patchwork of carbon penalties on private energy firms, the United States could soon become dependent on energy companies owned by foreign states to meet its energy needs…”—The American Free Enterprise Chamber of Commerce
• TLR Thoughts: With thousands of jobs and our nation’s energy security at risk it’s clear that it’s past time to rein in climate nuisance litigation. TLR has long argued that issues like national climate policy require a federal legislative solution–not a patchwork of decisions from state judges.

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