Oil majors argue Hawaii climate lawsuit should be decided by legislature, not courts
Lawyers for major oil firms told a Honolulu judge the state's climate suit belongs in the legislature rather than the courtroom.
More than a dozen attorneys for the world’s largest oil producers and the American Petroleum Institute appeared before First Circuit Judge Jordon Kimura in Honolulu to contend that Hawaii’s climate-change lawsuit should be handled by the state legislature, not the judiciary. The state alleges that companies such as BP, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Shell, ConocoPhillips, Phillips 66, Sunoco and others misled the public about the environmental impact of their fuels, seeking damages, civil penalties and a fund for sea-level rise and wildfire mitigation.
Chevron counsel Theodore Boutrous argued the case is a political question that belongs to elected officials, citing the governor’s historic balancing of fuel needs and climate concerns. The judge pressed both sides on whether the suit forces a court to determine global emissions levels, while the state’s lawyer Victor Sher emphasized the claim focuses on deceptive marketing rather than setting emissions caps. Sunoco’s representative Scott Janoe described the complaint as a disguised fraud case, and the American Petroleum Institute invoked Hawaii’s anti-SLAPP law to seek dismissal. Kimura took the motions under advisement without setting a ruling date.
Why it matters
The case could shape how courts handle climate-damage claims against major fossil-fuel companies.
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