Skip to content
  • MyNewMarkets.com
  • Claims Journal
  • Insurance Journal TV
  • Academy of Insurance
  • Carrier Management
Insurance Journal - Property Casualty Industry News

Featured Stories

  • Lemonade Posts Another Quarterly Loss
  • Tesla Must Pay $243M Over Fatal Autopilot Crash
  • Articles
  • Jobs
  • Markets

Current Magazine

current magazine
  • Read Online
  • Subscribe
  • Login
  • Front Page
    • National
    • International
    • Most Popular
    • Magazine
    • Forums
    • Blogs
    • Videos/Podcasts
    • Newsletters
  • News
    • Most Popular
    • National
    • International
    • East
    • Midwest
    • South Central
    • Southeast
    • West
  • Magazines
  • Research
  • Directories
  • Jobs
  • Features
    • Events
    • Forums
    • Market Directories
    • Quotes
    • Polls
    • Rankings & Awards
    • Insurance Giving Back
  • Subscribe

SCOTUS Declines to Hear Exxon, Koch Industries Appeal on Venue in Climate Case

By Clark Mindock | January 9, 2024
Email This Subscribe to Newsletter
  • Article

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a bid by major fossil fuel companies and an industry trade group to move a lawsuit filed by Minnesota accusing them of worsening climate change out of state court and into federal court, the energy industry’s favored venue.

Exxon Mobil Corp, Koch Industries and the American Petroleum Institute had asked the justices to review a March decision by the St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. That court found that Minnesota’s lawsuit accusing the energy industry of engaging in decades of deceptive marketing to undermine climate science and the public’s understanding of the dangers of burning fossil fuels belonged in state court, where it was originally filed.

Last year, the justices declined to consider several similar appeals, effectively sending cases filed in California, Colorado, Rhode Island, Hawaii, Maryland and elsewhere back to state court, a venue often seen as more favorable to plaintiffs than federal court.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said in a statement Monday that the decision will now allow the case to proceed toward trial in state court, and that the decision aligns with similar decisions in courts across the country.

Representatives for the American Petroleum Institute, Koch and Exxon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Eight U.S. appeals courts have affirmed lower court decisions remanding similar climate cases to state courts, finding generally that the lawsuits exclusively raise state law claims and thus federal courts do not have jurisdiction.

The American Petroleum Institute, the oil and gas lobby group that has been accused of helping to coordinate the industry’s alleged deception, and energy companies have said federal jurisdiction is appropriate because climate change is an issue of national and global importance.

The fossil fuel industry has said the lawsuits effectively try to regulate federal energy policy through state law, and that the federal court system is the appropriate place to litigate harms allegedly caused by greenhouse gas emissions, which are produced across the globe and cannot be contained within state lines.

Minnesota’s 2020 lawsuit accused the energy companies and the American Petroleum Institute of knowing since the 1970s and 1980s that the fossil fuels they sold would cause climate change, but that the companies did not disclose that risk to the Minnesota public and instead actively sought to undermine climate change science. The state said the coordinated efforts to downplay the risks of fossil fuels violated state consumer protection and fraud laws, and has caused the state billions of dollars in economic damages tied to climate change.

“Taken together, the defendants’ behavior has delayed the transition to alternative energy sources and a lower carbon economy, resulting in dire impacts on Minnesota’s environment and enormous costs to Minnesotans and the world,” Ellison said Monday.

The companies and the institute have denied those allegations, and told the Supreme Court in August that the case deserved to be in federal court given the state’s apparent aim to seek a remedy for the impacts of a global phenomenon such as climate change.

Copyright 2025 Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Was this article valuable?

Thank you! Please tell us what we can do to improve this article.

Thank you! % of people found this article valuable. Please tell us what you liked about it.

Here are more articles you may enjoy.

Interest rates and dividends Business development with percentagNew Law Orders Louisiana Insurers to Show Prior Policy Premiums
judge holds gavel in courtroom delivers verdictTrump Media CEO Nunes Loses Defamation Lawsuit Over Rachel Maddow Show
Verisk’s $2.35B Buy of AccuLynx ‘Natural Fit’ for Claims Management Solutions
‘Soft Market Under Stress’ Offers Unique Window of Opportunity for Insurance Buyers

Written By Clark Mindock

More From Author

The most important insurance news,
in your inbox every business day.

Get the insurance industry's trusted newsletter

Email This Subscribe to Newsletter
  • Categories: National NewsTopics: Climate Change, consumer protection laws, environmental social governance, ESG
  • Have a hot lead? Email us at newsdesk@insurancejournal.com
More News
Louisiana Department of Insurance Launches Enhanced Mobile App
Insurtech Root Swings to Q2 Profit on Growth in Partnership Channel
Human Responses: Did Jurors React to Musk in Damage Award Against Tesla?
Neptune Flood: 77% of At-Risk Homes Outside FEMA Zones Have No Flood Insurance
More News Features

Read This Next

  • SCOTUS Declines to Hear Exxon, Koch Industries Appeal on Venue in Climate Case
  • Lemonade Posts Another Quarterly Loss but Car Growth Continues
  • The List Is Here! IJ's Top 100 Independent Agencies
  • 'We'll Have to See How This Plays Out,' Says CEO Berkley on MGA Competitors
  • FEMA Denies Maryland Disaster Aid Request for Western Counties Hit by May Floods

Insurance Jobs

  • Sales Agent - Encino, California
  • Insurance Account Executive/Manager Wanted Flexible Hours, Potential Equity - Dix Hills/Deer Park, NY
  • Claim Representative Trainee, Outside Property – Huntsville, AL - Hoover, AL
  • Commercial Lines Underwriter – REMOTE - Remote
  • Direct Sales Agent Specialist (2409) - Athens, GA
MyNewMarkets
  • DIY Home Inspections Are Taking Over, Firms Say
  • Six Things to Know About Umbrella Insurance
  • What to Know About Construction and Environmental Liability
  • How Embedded Insurance Supports Real Livelihoods in the Growing On-Demand Economy
  • How to Keep Third-Party Events from Becoming First-Party Losses
Claims Journal
  • J&J Talc Evidence Gets Review by Ex-Judge at Drugmaker Law Firm
  • BHP, Vale Offer $1.4B Settlement in Lawsuit Over Brazil Dam Disaster
  • New Report Finds 77% of At-Risk Homes Outside FEMA Zones Have No Flood Insurance
  • US Auto Safety Regulator Sought Tesla Robotaxi Ride Last Month
  • Zurich Insurance Beats Estimates Despite LA Wildfire Hit
Academy of Insurance education
  • August 7 EPLI Basics
  • August 14 Managing and Insuring Reputational Risk
  • August 19 How To Write: Flood
  • August 21 Workers' Comp Crash Course

Insurance News

  • News by Region
  • News by Topic
  • Yesterday

Site Search

Features

  • Insurance Markets Directory
  • Forums
  • A.M. Best Company Ratings
  • Industry Events
  • Agencies For Sale
  • Newswire
  • Insurance Jobs
  • Rankings & Awards

Connect with us

  • Email Newsletters
  • Magazine Subscriptions
  • For Your Website
  • RSS Feeds
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Do Not Sell My Info

Insurance Journal

  • Submit News
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Reprints
  • Link to Us
  • Contact Us

Wells Media Group Network

  • Insurance Journal
  • MyNewMarkets.com
  • Claims Journal
  • Insurance Journal TV
  • Academy of Insurance
  • Carrier Management
© 2025 by Wells Media Group, Inc. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Site Map