Ann Carlson in Common Dreams — ‘Accountability Is Coming’: Federal Judges Rule California Climate Suits Against Big Oil Must Go Forward in State Court

A panel of federal judges on Tuesday ruled that California climate lawsuits aiming to force major fossil fuel companies to pay for their role in causing the environmental crisis must be heard in state courts rather than more industry-friendly federal venues, a decision that was celebrated as a major blow to Big Oil’s efforts to evade accountability. While the lawsuits have a long way to go before reaching a jury, UCLA environmental law professor Ann Carlson told AP that the rulings move plaintiffs closer to discovering what top fossil fuel executives knew and when they knew it and what oil companies did to fund a campaign to dissuade the American public that climate change was happening.”