City of Boulder Can Sue Big Oil, State Supreme Court Rules

“Boulder asserts claims for public and private nuisance, trespass, unjust enrichment, and civil conspiracy, and it seeks damages for the role that defendants’ production, promotion, refining, marketing, and sale of fossil fuels has allegedly played in exacerbating climate change, which, in turn, has purportedly caused harm to Boulder’s property and residents,” according to the 5-2 ruling issued on Monday. The court’s majority opinion, written by Justice Richard Gabriel, acknowledges that “this case presents substantial issues of global import.” The ruling, though, was narrow, and only affirmed that a lower court did not err when it allowed the suit to move forward.

The decision then sends the case back to the circuit court where it will proceed. “In doing so, we express no opinion on the ultimate viability of the merits of Boulder’s claims,” the opinion read.

This is the second time a state supreme court has allowed such a climate-related lawsuit to proceed; the Hawai’i court ruled on Honolulu’s case in late 2023, and early this year the US Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from the oil companies arguing that emissions and climate change impacts are national or global in scope and thus shouldn’t be argued at the state level; the SCOTUS ruling meant that case too could move ahead in Hawai’i. In the Colorado case, Exxon said after the ruling that the lawsuit is “meritless” and should not be in front of state courts. Alas.

“The Colorado Supreme Court’s decision validates what we have long known: our communities are already bearing the devastating impacts and mounting costs of the climate crisis,” said Boulder County Commissioner Ashley Stolzmann, in a statement. The city’s mayor, Aaron Brockett, agreed: “Our community has suffered significantly from the consequences of climate change, and today’s decision brings us one step closer to justice and the resources we need to protect our future.”