{"id":394215,"date":"2025-08-10T15:05:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-10T13:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=394215"},"modified":"2025-08-10T15:05:28","modified_gmt":"2025-08-10T13:05:28","slug":"judge-crushes-charleston-climate-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=394215","title":{"rendered":"Judge Crushes Charleston Climate\u00a0Case"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Science Matters<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By\u00a0Ron Clutz<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"A<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

EID covers the legal thrashing visited upon Charleston plaintiffs seeking a judgment punishing Big Oil for their role in climate misfortunes. The article is Judge Shuts Down Charleston Climate Case, Warns of \u201cBoundless\u201d Liability.<\/a> <\/strong> Excerpts in italics with my bolds and added images.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A South Carolina judge has dismissed Charleston\u2019s climate lawsuit<\/a>,
delivering a decisive setback to the climate litigation campaign. <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Via a ruling on Wednesday, Judge Roger Young <\/strong>dismissed the case with prejudice<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 meaning Charleston cannot refile the claims \u2013 dealing a substantial blow for law firm Sher Edling<\/a> and the Rockefeller-backed<\/a> climate litigation campaign. This ruling follows a growing trend of <\/strong>similar dismissals<\/a><\/strong> in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland<\/a>, reinforcing the principle that climate policy is a national and global issue, not something individual states or cities can reshape using state law:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201c\u2026 the Court concludes that, although Plaintiff\u2019s claims purport to be about deception, they are premised on, and seek redress for, the effects of greenhouse gas emissions.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n

\n
\"Text<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

A Slippery Slope<\/strong> <\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

One of Judge Young\u2019s most striking points<\/a> was a clear warning about the \u201cboundless\u201d nature of the liability Charleston\u2019s claims could create.<\/strong> If allowed to proceed, the city\u2019s theory would open the floodgates for nearly limitless <\/strong>litigation \u2013 not just against energy producers, but a wide range of industries, including airlines, automakers, and agriculture: <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cUnder Plaintiff\u2019s theory, any emitters of or contributors to greenhouse gas emissions \u2014 such as airlines, automotive manufacturers, power companies, and agricultural companies\u2014could be liable for contributing<\/strong> to global climate change\u2026 \u2026 As with the list of plaintiffs, the list of potential defendants thus appears boundless<\/strong>.\u201d (emphasis added)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, Judge Young emphasized that allowing such lawsuits would create a precedent where every weather event would potentially trigger legal action:<\/strong> <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cAlready, scores of states, counties, and municipalities have sued a hodgepodge of oil-and-gas companies for the alleged weather-related effects of climate change. If these lawsuits were successful, municipalities, companies, and individuals across the country could bring suits for injuries after every weather event.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Time-Barred and Fundamentally Flawed<\/strong> <\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Even Charleston\u2019s claim under South Carolina\u2019s Unfair Trade Practices Act did not survive \u2013 barred by the state\u2019s three-year statute of limitations. Judge Young noted that public awareness of climate change and its connection to fossil fuel use<\/strong> has existed for decades<\/strong>, undercutting any claim of recent discovery: <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cPlaintiff\u2019s Complaint is time-barred under South Carolina\u2019s three-year statute of limitations because Plaintiff has long been on notice of the potential dangers of climate change and its connection to fossil-fuel use.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The ruling also referenced constitutional limits and recent federal actions opposing these types of suits, specifically referencing President Trump\u2019s April <\/strong>Executive Order<\/a><\/strong> targeting anti-energy lawfare.<\/strong>    <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"An<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Notably, Judge Young flatly <\/strong>rejected<\/a><\/strong> comparisons to tobacco and opioid litigation,<\/strong> stating Charleston\u2019s claims fundamentally differ because the alleged harm depends on cumulative, global emissions \u2013 not direct, localized actions: <\/strong> <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cA plaintiff smoking tobacco in South Carolina causes direct adverse health effects to that plaintiff in South Carolina. The City\u2019s claims, by contrast, depend on interstate and international emissions allegedly causing global climate change, ultimately resulting in alleged in-state injuries caused by, for example, the weather. Because any alleged injury under Plaintiff\u2019s claims necessarily relies on the cumulative effect of interstate and international emissions from global consumers, the claims are readily distinguishable from these other mass-tort cases and are uniquely precluded and preempted by federal law.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

BOTTOM LINE<\/strong>: This ruling sends a clear message: the courtroom is not the place to set national climate policy.<\/strong> As more judges reject these unfounded claims, the climate litigation campaign is losing both momentum and credibility. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"A<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Footnote from the ruling by Judge Roger Young<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cThis Court thus joins the \u201cgrowing chorus of state and federal courts across the United States, singing from the same hymnal, in concluding that the claims raised by [climate-change plaintiffs] are not judiciable by any state court\u201d and that \u201cour federal structure does not allow . . . any State\u2019s law[] to address [these types of climate-change] claims.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The case was CITY OF CHARLESTON, Plaintiff, v.
BRABHAM OIL COMPANY, INC.; COLONIAL GROUP, INC.; ENMARK STATIONS, INC.; COLONIAL PIPELINE COMPANY; PIEDMONT PETROLEUM CORP.; EXXON MOBIL CORPORATION; EXXONMOBIL OIL CORPORATION; ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC; SHELL OIL COMPANY; SHELL OIL PRODUCTS COMPANY LLC; CHEVRON CORPORATION; CHEVRON U.S.A. INC.; BP P.L.C.; BP AMERICA INC.; MARATHON PETROLEUM CORPORATION; MARATHON PETROLEUM COMPANY LP; SPEEDWAY LLC; MURPHY OIL CORPORATION; MURPHY OIL USA, INC.; HESS CORPORATION; CONOCOPHILLIPS; CONOCOPHILLIPS COMPANY; PHILLIPS 66; and PHILLIPS 66 COMPANY,
Defendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS\u2019 JOINT MOTION TO DISMISS PLAINTIFF\u2019S COMPLAINT FOR FAILURE TO STATE A CLAIM AND FOR LACK OF PERSONAL JURISDICTION<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A South Carolina judge has dismissed\u00a0Charleston\u2019s climate lawsuit, delivering a decisive setback to the climate litigation campaign.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":394230,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"A South Carolina judge dismisses Charleston's climate lawsuit, warning of limitless liability for industries linked to greenhouse gas emissions.","jetpack_seo_html_title":"Judge Dismisses Charleston Climate Case, Warns of Liability Risks","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691837168,691818056,691820398,691818443,691819148,691837169],"class_list":{"0":"post-394215","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-charleston","9":"tag-climate-change","10":"tag-climate-lawsuit","11":"tag-greenhouse-gas-emissions","12":"tag-oil-and-gas","13":"tag-south-carolina-judge","15":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/AQM0SspDECHjjNqF5UQrL7NonKoWyKhxNrtMZnqDVMBQRa3Wf4WcOHCwJ_kmphwXgEBOlA0_j1kZ-gPAOtMwrrg7rEY1Vejvcd9pxjQwol68gLgpm7EdrlLQheYWYLOr8KbtLRBXl9v6WN3VkU-IlAWR6_zmPA.jpeg?fit=1280%2C1280&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1Eyj","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":219397,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=219397","url_meta":{"origin":394215,"position":0},"title":"Virginia judge dismisses youth climate change lawsuit","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"17\/09\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Out of order. 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The story starts with a massive judicial tome called the Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"climate alarmism\"","block_context":{"text":"climate alarmism","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-alarmism"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/0Climate-justice-paint-mural.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/0Climate-justice-paint-mural.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/0Climate-justice-paint-mural.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/0Climate-justice-paint-mural.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/0Climate-justice-paint-mural.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":407770,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=407770","url_meta":{"origin":394215,"position":5},"title":"Climate Lawfare Circus\u00a0Update","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"12\/10\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"In 2025, climate activists experienced several major litigation defeats in the United States, especially in their attempts to challenge President Trump\u2019s climate and energy policies at the federal level and to anchor climate protection as a constitutional right.","rel":"","context":"In \"climate activists\"","block_context":{"text":"climate activists","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-activists"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0AQOr5-QZ2RnwGNlbJ-NXSZvWsOa_i1XEtmIyPqKTyjtQgVdoVVCoz0kQw1xaUPdf7iHHyT2m4t4Egvk9ukunDK96HP0XX4Xhq6UITnP3FiqQL7iTMWphRnBmJS9AOLiS-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C661&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0AQOr5-QZ2RnwGNlbJ-NXSZvWsOa_i1XEtmIyPqKTyjtQgVdoVVCoz0kQw1xaUPdf7iHHyT2m4t4Egvk9ukunDK96HP0XX4Xhq6UITnP3FiqQL7iTMWphRnBmJS9AOLiS-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C661&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0AQOr5-QZ2RnwGNlbJ-NXSZvWsOa_i1XEtmIyPqKTyjtQgVdoVVCoz0kQw1xaUPdf7iHHyT2m4t4Egvk9ukunDK96HP0XX4Xhq6UITnP3FiqQL7iTMWphRnBmJS9AOLiS-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C661&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0AQOr5-QZ2RnwGNlbJ-NXSZvWsOa_i1XEtmIyPqKTyjtQgVdoVVCoz0kQw1xaUPdf7iHHyT2m4t4Egvk9ukunDK96HP0XX4Xhq6UITnP3FiqQL7iTMWphRnBmJS9AOLiS-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C661&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0AQOr5-QZ2RnwGNlbJ-NXSZvWsOa_i1XEtmIyPqKTyjtQgVdoVVCoz0kQw1xaUPdf7iHHyT2m4t4Egvk9ukunDK96HP0XX4Xhq6UITnP3FiqQL7iTMWphRnBmJS9AOLiS-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C661&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=394215"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394215\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":394233,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394215\/revisions\/394233"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/394230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=394215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=394215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=394215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}