State Supreme Court advances major legal challenge over long-running public damage: 'This lawsuit is based on a fundamental legal principle'

The Colorado Supreme Court ruled that a lawsuit filed by local governments against two major oil companies can proceed.

As explained by Colorado Politics earlier this month, a 5-2 vote in the Supreme Court allowed the governments of Boulder County and the city of Boulder to move forward with their lawsuit against ExxonMobil and Suncor, alleging harms caused by the effects of the changing climate. The lawsuit reportedly raised "state-level claims of nuisance, trespass, unjust enrichment and civil conspiracy against" the two companies.

ExxonMobil said in a statement that the lawsuit was meritless, and it would "continue to fight these claims," but the local governments already scored a win in the matter.

"This lawsuit is based on a fundamental legal principle: You have to pay your fair share for the harm that you cause," Marco Simons, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, told Colorado Politics.

The lawsuit alleges that ExxonMobil and Suncor "knew for decades that the burning of fossil fuels and the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere would change the planet's climate," but still "misrepresented or concealed their internal findings from the public," per Colorado Politics.

Boulder County and the city of Boulder also highlighted the vast amount of money spent to address droughts, wildfires, and other instances of extreme weather.

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The burning of dirty fuels creates most of releases of harmful gases that lead to rising global temperatures, which create more favorable conditions for extreme weather events like those seen in Colorado to become more frequent and intense.

While this lawsuit could pave the way for more companies to be held responsible for their contributions to the changing climate and drive change in how companies impact our environment, it isn't without its detractors. Justice Carlos A. Samour Jr. was one of the dissenting votes and argued that it could lead to "regulatory chaos."

"We are but one indivisible nation. Yet, the majority in this case gives Boulder, Colorado, the green light to act as its own republic," Samour wrote for himself and Justice Brian D. Boatright, per Colorado Politics.

Boulder County and the city of Boulder aren't alone in their push to hold major corporations accountable. In 2024, Baltimore filed a lawsuit against companies like Pepsi, Frito-Lay, and Coca-Cola, alleging their responsibility for plastic pollution in Maryland. Multnomah County in Oregon also filed a lawsuit against major dirty fuel companies following a devastating heat wave in 2021, which the county claims was exacerbated by the pollution from these companies.