Supreme Court asks Biden administration for opinion on Honolulu (NYSE:SUN) climate lawsuit

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday asked the Biden administration to consider an attempt by oil companies to dismiss a lawsuit from the city of Honolulu, Hawaii, that accuses them of deceiving the public for decades about the dangers of climate change changes caused by the burning of fossil fuels.

The U.S. Attorney General was asked to submit a brief explaining the administration’s position on whether the Court should hear the city’s challenge to the lawsuit.

A group of major oil companies including BHP (BHP), BP (BP), Chevron (CVX), ConocoPhillips (COP), Exxon Mobil (XOM), Marathon Petroleum (MPC), Shell (SHEL) and Sunoco (NYSE:NO), were among the companies asking the Supreme Court to hear the case after the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled in October that the lawsuit could proceed.

In their motion for reconsideration, the companies argued that the U.S. Clean Air Act subjects broad environmental impact claims to the federal court system and prevents individual states and local governments from filing their own lawsuits.

Honolulu attorneys say the company’s claims about the companies’ “deceptive” trade practices “consist with the fundamental interests and historic powers of the states.”