US judge dismisses Michigan climate lawsuit against oil companies

The US court dismissed a?antitrust suit in which Michigan accused the four major oil companies of colluding to?prevent competition in renewable energy, including electric cars, on Tuesday. This decision was in line with previous rulings in similar situations.

US District Judge Jane Beckering, in Grand Rapids, rejected the lawsuit that Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed in January against BP and Exxon, Shell, Chevron.

The judge said that antitrust laws do not protect against any of the damages for which Michigan sought to seek a remedy except for overcharges on energy.

Beckering stated that "the distance is too great" between the alleged conspiracies and Michigan and its residents overcharges for it to be determined whether the conspiracy was the cause of the overcharges.

The complaint stated that the companies wanted to "restrain a rise in electric vehicles and renewable primary energy technologies" in the United States.

Other judges have also rejected similar climate -lawsuits, including in Delaware Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania Puerto Rico, and South Carolina.

A spokesperson for Nessel stated that she was not happy with the decision and is considering all options available to the state.

The Justice Department, who in May sued Michigan to stop it from suing oil companies, applauded the judge's decision, calling Michigan's attempt "another aggressively energy-hating lawsuit."

Nessel's spokesperson did not comment immediately.

Ted Boutrous said that the Chevron decision was "another addition to the list of federal and State?courts who have dismissed climate suits."

Michigan's lawsuit said that in the 1970s Exxon developed the first hybrid -gas-electric vehicle technology but it was never marketed. It also cited Exxon internal research from 1979 which "predicted renewable energy would become a growing competitive threat to fossil energies."

Chevron, and other?companies, have been fighting lawsuits filed by local and state governments that seek to hold them accountable for climate change. Many of these lawsuits are still pending.

The Trump administration reversed the policies of the Biden administration by taking a series of steps to make it easier to for automakers not to build electric vehicles, and to make them more costly for consumers.

(source: Reuters)