On Wednesday, the climate change movement faced a significant setback when a trial judge forever dismissed a lawsuit from Democrats that accused major oil companies of being responsible for damages caused by climate change in the state.
In 2022, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin sued major oil companies like ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Phillips 66, Shell, and the American Petroleum Institute. He argued that the fossil fuel industry is worsening climate change and harming the state.
On Wednesday, Judge Douglas Hurd of the New Jersey Superior Court dismissed the case, stating that legal oil companies cannot be held responsible for pollution around the world. The case was dropped with prejudice, meaning it cannot be reopened.
“The plaintiffs want to control how lawful products are marketed and distributed across the country and even the world. Billions of people outside New Jersey depend on these products to heat their homes, power hospitals and schools, produce and transport food, and make many essential items for society,” said Hurd, who made the ruling.
Hurd said that the claimants couldn’t fairly ask for damages due to emissions from across the country.
The plaintiffs want compensation for losses they say are caused by emissions and global warming that affect multiple states and countries, so their case cannot be handled under state law. Hurd said in the ruling that, in our federal system, states cannot use their laws to settle claims for injuries caused by emissions from other states or from around the world.
Energy experts told Fox News Digital that the decision shows that “elected officials should make energy policy, not activist lawyers through legal battles.”
“This decision is a big win for common sense and the law.” Climate activists are taking legal action to promote their extreme views, but more judges are turning down these unfounded lawsuits, which could harm energy security and the economy, said Jason Isaac, CEO of the American Energy Institute and former Texas representative, in a statement to Fox News Digital.
Steve Milloy, a senior fellow at the Energy & Environment Legal Institute and a former member of the Trump EPA transition team, stated that similar cases might not succeed because “the climate issue is political, not legal.”
“Milloy said that while Democrats may not see it this way, political issues should be decided by voters, not in court.”
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