Justice Alito Sits Out Ruling in Case That Could Impact His Finances - Newsweek
Justice Alito Sits Out Ruling in Case That Could Impact His Finances - Newsweek
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito recused himself in a Big Oil case going back to the Biden administration, with reasons unspecified but likely tied to stock held in multiple energy companies.
On Monday, the High Court asked the U.S. Office of the Solicitor General to file a brief "expressing the views of the United States" as part of the case City and County of Honolulu v. Sunoco et al. The case, if taken up pending the solicitor general's response, stems from a Hawaii Supreme Court ruling that determined the federal Clean Air Act does not preempt state law claims accusing major oil and gas companies—like Sunoco, BP, ExxonMobil, Shell and Chevron—of deceptively hiding their impacts on climate change.
Chevron Monday afternoon declined comment via email but later shared a statement with Newsweek: "It is important for the U.S. Supreme Court to grant review. The Hawaii Supreme Court's decision flatly contradicts U.S. Supreme Court precedent and federal circuit court decisions, including the Second Circuit which held in dismissing New York City's similar lawsuit, 'such a sprawling case is simply beyond the limits of state law.' These meritless state and local lawsuits violate the federal constitution and interfere with federal energy policy," said Theodore J. Boutrous, Jr., of Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher, counsel for Chevron Corporation.
The attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont and the District of Columbia; dozens of municipal governments in California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Puerto Rico; and two tribal governments have filed lawsuits against these large fossil fuel companies, according to the Center for Climate Integrity.
Alito, according to sources, owns stock in ConocoPhillips and Phillips 66—both mentioned in myriad suits.
ConocoPhillips told Newsweek: "Our company practice is to not comment on pending litigation matters."
Shell declined to comment to Newsweek.
Sunoco told Newsweek: "We do not comment on ongoing legal matters."
Newsweek also reached out to Phillips 66.
"Big Oil companies are fighting desperately to avoid trial in lawsuits like Honolulu's, which would expose the evidence of the fossil fuel industry's climate lies for the entire world to see," Richard Wiles, president of the Center for Climate Integrity, said in a statement. "Communities everywhere are paying dearly for the massive damages caused by Big Oil's decades-long climate deception.
"The people of Honolulu and other communities across the country deserve their day in court to hold these companies accountable."
"Lawsuits like Honolulu's are not seeking to solve climate change or regulate emissions — these plaintiffs simply want Big Oil to stop lying and pay their fair share of the damages they knowingly caused," Alyssa Johl, the center's vice president of legal and general counsel, said in a statement.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett in the past has been encouraged by some to recuse herself from Big Oil-related lawsuits.
In January 2021, Barrett participated in oral arguments in the city of Baltimore's lawsuit against Shell, BP and several other oil companies after her father was employed by Shell for 29 years, according to HuffPost.
At that time, Alito had reportedly recused himself from various cases due to his own conflicts of interest.
The Guardian on Monday reported an "unprecedented pressure campaign" by right-wing proponents of the fossil fuel companies in question, linking numerous op-eds and social media advertising to Leonard Leo, co-chair of the ultraconservative legal advocacy group The Federalist Society. Leo has been accused of financially helping conservative Supreme Court justices over the years.
Update 06/11/24, 10:07 a.m. ET: This article was updated with responses from Shell and Sunoco.
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