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In the News

Supreme Court takes appeal of Baltimore climate-change lawsuit

Legal Newsline, October 2, 2020

By Daniel Fisher

WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) – The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal of a lower-court decision sending Baltimore’s climate lawsuit back to state court, potentially resolving where the politically controversial litigation will be decided.

The high court granted certiorari in BP vs. Baltimore on the narrow question of whether the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals should have considered all of BP’s arguments against remand to state court, instead of just the question of whether the involvement of federal officials in energy policy stripped the state court of jurisdiction.

The Supreme Court’s interest cheered the energy industry, which is facing a growing number of lawsuits by cities and states, many of them represented by private lawyers who stand to earn billions of dollars in fees if they are successful. Baltimore is represented by Sher Edling, a San Francisco law firm that has also recruited Delaware, Rhode Island and municipalities in California as clients.

The Supreme Court isn’t being asked to decide the core issue in climate litigation, which is whether these cases belong in court at all. The defendant companies, mostly oil producers but also their industry association, say the lawsuits are an attempt to end-run elected legislators who are responsible for energy policy. Federal courts in New York and California agreed, dismissing lawsuits by New York City and San Francisco.

Since then, climate activists and private lawyers have scored successes in Maryland and Colorado, winning orders sending their cases back to local courts which may view lawsuits seeking billions of dollars from out-of-state corporations more favorably. The lawsuits generally accuse oil companies of failing to tell consumers about the effects of CO2 emissions on global climate, which plaintiff lawyers say represents fraud. The lawsuits don’t seek damages for actual emissions of greenhouse gases, since that would implicate their own government clients, who use hydrocarbon fuels to heat their buildings and operate their vehicles.

Most remand orders are not appealable under federal law. There are two exceptions for questions involving federal officers and violations of federal civil rights statutes. The Fourth Circuit construed the rules narrowly to find a federal court had correctly rejected oil-industry arguments that the Baltimore case met the federal officer exception. The defendants – backed by attorneys general of more than a dozen states and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – say appeals courts should examine all the arguments for removal.

“In granting review in the Baltimore climate change case, the Supreme Court clearly understands the need for the federal judiciary to speak with a single voice on whether this climate case and the others like it should be heard in state or federal court,” said Phil Goldberg, special counsel for the Manufacturers’ Accountability Project, which opposes climate litigation.

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The Dallas County DA argued a judge’s impartiality could reasonably be questioned after she lowered a defendant’s bail considerably while his defense lawyer is one of her top campaign contributors, and then raised his bail after media reports about her rulings. Read and share: bit.ly/3lfQMzM ... See MoreSee Less

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Dallas judge under scrutiny for bail rulings recuses herself from cases

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Judge Chika Anyiam, of Criminal District Court 7, recused herself Monday from 10 felony cases against Julio Guerrero. A Dallas County judge who faced public scrutiny for lowering a murder suspect’s ...
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2 days ago

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TLR General Counsel Lee Parsley joined the U.S. Chamber’s Institute for Legal Reform’s podcast to discuss nuclear verdicts in the trucking industry and what legislators can do to ensure that excessive lawsuits don't shut down this vital industry. Listen and share: bit.ly/3wjgKJ9 #trucking #lawsuit #LegalNews #courts ... See MoreSee Less

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Nuclear Verdicts Create Litigation "Vortex" for Trucking Industry

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In this episode of Cause for Action, Nathan Morris, senior vice president, legal reform advocacy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform, is joined by Lee Parsley, the general couns...
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Texans for Lawsuit Reform

2 days ago

Texans for Lawsuit Reform

TLR General Counsel Lee Parsley joined the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform podcast to discuss nuclear verdicts in the trucking industry and what legislators can do to ensure that excessive lawsuits don't shut down this vital industry. Listen and share: bit.ly/3wjgKJ9 ... See MoreSee Less

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Nuclear Verdicts Create Litigation "Vortex" for Trucking Industry

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In this episode of Cause for Action, Nathan Morris, senior vice president, legal reform advocacy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform, is joined by Lee Parsley, the general couns...
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The Dallas County DA argued a judge’s impartiality could be questioned after she lowered a defendant’s bail while his defense lawyer is one of her top campaign contributors and then raised his bail after media reports about her rulings. Read & RT:

Dallas judge under scrutiny for bail rulings recuses herself from cases

Judge Chika Anyiam, of Criminal District Court 7, recused herself Monday from 10 felony cases against Julio Guerrero. A Dallas County judge who faced ...

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TLR is working to make the Texas legal system fair, efficient, and accessible for all. Learn more: #tortreform

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TLR's objective is to restore litigation to its traditional and appropriate role in our society. A lawsuit takes a heavy emotional and financial toll ...

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