On Saturday, U.S. District Court Judge Jane M. Beckering, Western District of Michigan, dismissed a Trump Administration lawsuit that sought to prohibit the State of Michigan from filing state-law claims against the fossil fuel industry related to climate impacts. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit last year. Judge Beckering agreed with the attorney general and dismissed the case, finding that the Court lacked subject matter jurisdiction under the Constitution to hear the case because the dispute was not ripe for adjudication and because the United States did not establish that it had standing to bring the case.
“This lawsuit was a cynical attempt by the Trump Administration to intimidate my office into abandoning our responsibility to hold powerful corporations accountable for putting profits ahead of the health, safety, and energy affordability of Michiganders,” said Nessel. “I am relieved the court saw through this and dismissed this frivolous case. My office will not be bullied, and we will continue to stand up for the people of Michigan, no matter how domineering the interests we face.”
While the court dismissed the case based on jurisdiction, Judge Beckering also highlighted tobacco, opioid, lead paint, and previous climate litigation as
examples of state attorney general public interest actions and noted the importance of state authority to litigate on behalf of the public welfare, even in areas with significant federal regulation.
Last week, Nessel filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against BP, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Shell, and the American Petroleum Institute alleging violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act, the Clayton Antitrust Act, and the Michigan Antitrust Reform Act. The attorney general alleges the defendants acted as a cartel in an unlawful conspiracy in restraint of trade to forestall meaningful competition from renewable energy in order to maintain their dominance in the transportation energy market and primary energy markets in Michigan and nationally in order to reap windfall, and illegal, profits.
“This lawsuit was a cynical attempt by the Trump Administration to intimidate my office into abandoning our responsibility to hold powerful corporations accountable for putting profits ahead of the health, safety, and energy affordability of Michiganders,” said Nessel. “I am relieved the court saw through this and dismissed this frivolous case. My office will not be bullied, and we will continue to stand up for the people of Michigan, no matter how domineering the interests we face.”
While the court dismissed the case based on jurisdiction, Judge Beckering also highlighted tobacco, opioid, lead paint, and previous climate litigation as
examples of state attorney general public interest actions and noted the importance of state authority to litigate on behalf of the public welfare, even in areas with significant federal regulation.
Last week, Nessel filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against BP, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Shell, and the American Petroleum Institute alleging violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act, the Clayton Antitrust Act, and the Michigan Antitrust Reform Act. The attorney general alleges the defendants acted as a cartel in an unlawful conspiracy in restraint of trade to forestall meaningful competition from renewable energy in order to maintain their dominance in the transportation energy market and primary energy markets in Michigan and nationally in order to reap windfall, and illegal, profits.
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