Bucks County lawsuit that blamed fossil fuel companies for severe weather events is dismissed
The lawsuit accused 14 companies and a trade organization of a "deception campaign," and sought to receive damages to compensate for the harms of climate change in the county.
A state judge dismissed a Bucks County lawsuit that accused 14 fossil fuel companies and a large trade organization of deceiving the public about their role in climate change, which has led to “catastrophic impacts” in the county due to severe weather events.
Judge Stephen Corr, who was elected to Bucks County Court in 2021, ruled that the lawsuit is preempted by federal law.
“Today we join a growing chorus of state and federal courts across the United States, singing from the same hymnal, in concluding that the claims raised by Bucks County are not judiciable by any state court in Pennsylvania,” Corr said in last week’s order.
James O’Malley, a spokesperson for Bucks, said in a statement that state courts elsewhere have disagreed that claims such as those brought in the lawsuit are preempted by federal law.
“The County intends to appeal the dismissal to the Commonwealth Court,” O’Malley said.
Fossil fuel companies applauded Corr’s decision.
“We are pleased that Judge Corr recognized that this case should be dismissed,” a Shell spokesperson said in a statement, adding: “We do not believe the courtroom is the right venue to address climate change.”
An ExxonMobil spokesperson said in a statement: “The court’s decision makes clear that some issues are much better off in federal court because of their complexity and far-reaching consequences."
Ryan Meyers, senior vice president and general counsel for the American Petroleum Institute, said in a statement that an “ongoing, coordinated campaign to wage meritless, politicized lawsuits against a foundational American industry and its workers is nothing more than a distraction from important national conversations and an enormous waste of taxpayer resources.”
Bucks filed its 172-page complaint in March 2024, following similar lawsuits filed by other states — including New Jersey — and local governments.
» READ MORE: Bucks County sues Big Oil companies for severe weather blamed on climate change
In addition to Shell, ExxonMobil, and API, the lawsuit accused fossil fuel companies including Chevron, BP, ConocoPhillips, and Philips 66 of embarking on a “successful climate deception campaign” to promote fossil fuels and accelerate global warming, leading to “devastating” and costly impacts.
As an example, the complaint notes the July 2023 flooding in Bucks County that resulted in at least seven deaths.
“These companies have known since at least the 1950s that their ways of doing business were having calamitous effects on our planet, and rather than change what they were doing or raise the alarm, they lied to all of us,” Commissioner Gene DiGirolamo said when announcing the lawsuit. “The taxpayers should not have to foot the bill for these companies and their greed.” (He later reconsidered his support for the suit.)
Though Bucks’ lawsuit focused on the alleged disinformation campaign of the fossil fuel industry, the actual harm that the county sought to rectify came from emissions, not advertising, the judge said.
“A simple reading of the Complaint proves that Bucks County is truly seeking redress for harm caused by climate change, a global phenomenon caused by the emission of greenhouse gases in every nation in the world,” Corr said.
The judge, however, rejected the fossil fuel companies’ argument that Bucks violated the Sunshine Act, a transparency law for public officials, when approving the filing of the lawsuit. (He also said, however, that the commissioners violated the “spirit” of the act in how they hired an external law firm and filed the lawsuit.)