Supreme Court Opens Its Term With Boulder's Climate Suit Against Exxon and Suncor

The Supreme Court is back on the bench this first Monday in October, and its opening case lands close to home for anybody who earns a living around oil, gas, or the weather. The justices are hearing a bid by ExxonMobil and Suncor Energy to toss out a lawsuit from Boulder, Colorado, that wants the companies to pay for damage the city and county blame on climate change. NPR and Reuters both previewed the argument, and SCOTUSblog keeps the case file.

What the fight is about

Boulder filed suit back in 2018. It argues the companies and a trade group knew decades ago that fossil fuels would raise the risk of floods, extreme heat, and wildfires, and misled people about it. Boulder says it is not trying to regulate emissions; it wants to recover what it spends on repairs, emergency services, and property damage. The companies say only the federal government can handle something as big as climate change, and the Trump administration backs them. The Colorado Supreme Court let the case proceed. The justices also asked both sides to argue whether the Court can even take it yet, since it is still early in the Colorado courts.

Eight on the bench

Justice Samuel Alito stepped aside last week without saying why, NBC News reported, so eight justices are hearing it. As NPR explains, a 4-4 tie would leave the Colorado ruling standing and let Boulder keep going. NBC adds that the outcome could ripple into more than two dozen similar lawsuits around the country.

Why it matters down here

Across the South, plenty of paychecks ride on refineries, pipelines, rigs, and the trucks that haul for them, and plenty of homes sit in the path of hurricanes and high water. When a court weighs who pays for storm damage and who gets to make the rules on energy, both halves of that life are on the table. Do not expect an answer today; the term runs nine months.

Off the mixing desk

While a mix was printing, we sat a MuddySouth Music producer down for a quick interview that wandered from taxes to turbochargers. When the Boulder case came up, he turned it into a riddle: if Hell is that hot, is Heaven cold? He grinned and admitted he does not carry an answer key for every question life hands him. One thing he would sign his name to, though: for generations, good people have lived and died to keep this country moving, free, and under God, and good news or bad news, that is how it is going to stay. Then the talkback light came on and the session pulled him back. Busy day in the studio.

One more thing from me

I will be straight with you: the best things MuddySouth Music has coming this year will not show up in a headline first. Big outreach and more fan hangouts are planned, and the folks on our list get word before anybody else. If you read this far, you are exactly who we want in that room. Put your name on the contact list today, then tell somebody at work to do the same. Thanks for reading. Stay sharp, stay kind, and I will see you tomorrow.

While the Court is in session

The catalog is already up. Start with the lead single Tell Ya Right Now from AS A CAT'S BACK, then the featured track Red Dirt Roads. The rest of the verified list is on the music page.

Tell Ya Right Now · Red Dirt Roads · Full catalog · More news