WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) – A panel of federal appellate judges recently dissolved an administrative stay in an advocacy group’s lawsuit against fuel giant against Exxon Mobil, which claims the company has not done enough to combat climate change, and ordered the case would stay in the D.C. Superior Court.
The case brought by Beyond Pesticides was originally filed there, before Exxon Mobil removed it to federal court on the grounds that it was a class action. The Class Action Fairness Act allows defendants to have those types of cases heard in federal court if more than $5 million is at stake.
However, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Timothy Kelly remanded the case back to the D.C. Superior Court on March 22.
Exxon appealed from this order.
“Beyond Pesticides makes no allegations in its complaint about a potential class…” Kelly said. “And as it argues, courts in this district have consistently – and persuasively – concluded that suits on behalf of consumers brought under the (D.C. Consumer Protection Procedures Act)…are ‘private attorney general suits’ and not class actions as defined by CAFA, in cases ‘where (a) plaintiff has not brought a ‘class action’ under D.C. Superior Court Rule 23.”
In its suit, Beyond Pesticides claims Exxon lied about investing in clean energy and cannot claim its clean energy activities are a significant proportion of its business. The company has faced various theories in climate change cases around the country and twice had a federal judge dismiss allegations it created the “public nuisance” of climate change.
One of those dismissals was overturned, however, when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled the cases should be heard in state court. That thinking has largely been the trend with other judges as well, as Exxon pursues appeals.
Exxon also said Beyond Pesticides’ case belongs in federal court because of diversity jurisdiction – Exxon is headquartered in Texas, Beyond Pesticides in D.C. and more than $75,000 is at stake considering the cost of compliance with the proposed injunction.
UPDATE
On April 23, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit Judges David S. Tatel, Cornelia T.L. Pillard and Justin R. Walker dissolved the emergency motion for stay pending appeal and shot down Exxon’s appeal in the case.
Clerk Mark J. Langer released the panel’s opinion.
“The Court declines to accept an appeal from the District Court’s order remanding this case to the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. It is unclear as a matter of District of Columbia law whether respondent’s action for injunctive relief under the District of Columbia Consumer Protection Procedures Act must be litigated as a class action. Accordingly, the District of Columbia courts should determine how this action should proceed,” Langer wrote.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit case 21-8001
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia case 1:20-cv-01815
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com