In a wide-ranging, nearly four-hour hearing this Wednesday, members of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform took a deep dive into the shadowy third-party litigation financing industry and the ethical issues that arise when well-funded activists manipulate the civil justice system. While some members of the Committee framed this potentially ethically-challenged financing method as providing
Read More...This Wednesday, the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability will hold a hearing to shine a light on the lack of oversight and ethics rules that allow billionaires to push political agendas through the civil justice system with little to no transparency. For a case study of how shadowy nonprofits and foreign billionaires influence litigation, and
Read More...A wealthy national anti-fossil fuel organization that recruits municipal and state plaintiffs to file lawsuits against energy companies for the effects of climate change now appears to have its sights on Pennsylvania, America’s second largest natural gas producing state. The effort to encourage local officials to sue American energy companies will surely be a tough
Read More...The reviews on the climate lawsuit filed last month by Multnomah County, Oregon are in, and they aren’t pretty. The lawsuit, which attempts to blame a number of energy companies for the effects of the 2021 heat dome extreme weather event that hit Portland and the surrounding region, has been met with significant skepticism from across the
Read More...The U.S. Supreme Court this morning opted out of providing guidance on whether climate lawsuits against energy companies should progress in federal court, thereby allowing them to continue on their paths to state courts across the country. Importantly, the plaintiffs in these cases face an uphill battle, as every climate suit that has been heard on the merits
Read More...With the Supreme Court’s decision on whether it will review the jurisdictional question present in Colorado municipalities’ climate lawsuit expected as soon as Monday, legal scholars, former legislators, and attorneys general are encouraging the high court to take up the case and prevent climate suits from moving forward in state courts. The experts agree: allowing dozens
Read More...The climate litigation campaign faces a pivotal moment this Friday when the U.S. Supreme Court will discuss whether it will review a key jurisdictional question that has defined the cases for years, with an announcement on their decision expected as soon as Monday. As reported by E&E News, this is “a venue dispute with huge consequences” as it
Read More...This blog is the second in a three-part series highlighting new revelations in New Jersey that shed further light on the climate litigation campaign. Read the first blog on CCI’s entrenchment at the local level here. Just weeks after being confirmed by the state legislature in October 2022, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin’s first
Read More...Energy companies shot back at the Biden administration’s decision to side with cities and states suing the industry over climate change last week, calling the federal government’s 180 move to support state jurisdiction “shot through with flaws” and driven by “a desire to signal virtue to political bedfellows,” as E&E News reports. The administration’s Solicitor General, at the order of the
Read More...Last week, Fox News reported that Ann Carlson – former UCLA environmental law professor and a primary fundraiser for climate lawsuits – has been nominated by President Biden to serve as Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Carlson’s nomination is before the Senate Commerce Committee, where her transportation safety record – or lack
Read More...Earlier this month, the New Hampshire House of Representatives voted against a measure that would have encouraged state leaders to sue American energy companies over climate change damages. The effort appears to have been coordinated by the Center for Climate Integrity, the activist group working behind (and in front of) the scenes to drive similar litigation across the
Read More...As petitions asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review whether climate lawsuits against American energy companies belong in federal or state court continue to stack up, a federal appellate judge has called on the high court to get involved. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit issued a long-anticipated ruling on the jurisdictional question yesterday in Minnesota’s climate lawsuit. And
Read More...This blog is the first of a three-part series highlighting new revelations in New Jersey that shed further light on the climate litigation campaign. Recently obtained emails reveal the playbook for activist group Center for Climate Integrity (CCI) and its extensive actions behind the scenes in New Jersey municipalities to recruit, support, and initiate climate
Read More...Supreme Court must now decide whether to follow the law and protect consumers – or follow politicized opinion handed down by Biden DOJ On Thursday, the Biden administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) issued its long-awaited amicus brief on whether the Supreme Court should rule on a core jurisdictional question in the City and County of
Read More...Two of the main drivers of the #ExxonKnew campaign are back with yet another study, this time crediting the company for being on target with climate model predictions. These are claims that activists have seized on for years, going back to at least 2019, so the report mentions very little new information and even acknowledges
Read More...