Law 360 Expert Analysis: “The Future Of Climate Suits After Justices’ Baltimore Ruling”

An expert analysis in Law 360 by Oliver Peter Thoma, a senior associate at King & Spalding LLP, looks at the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in BP PLC v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, and several other cases that might come before the court soon.

“Although the Supreme Court’s Baltimore opinion did not settle whether climate change lawsuits belong in federal or state court, the court vacated the judgments and issued remand orders in similar lawsuits pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, directing each of the courts to reconsider all grounds of removal raised by the energy company defendants,” the analysis reads in part. “This ruling was significant because each of these circuits had limited review to federal officer removal and had held that the energy companies failed to meet the federal officer removal standard. Thus, Baltimore was a major victory for energy company defendants who have fought to have these cases litigated in federal court.”