Supreme Court·Supreme Court
Supreme Court opens term Monday with Suncor climate-liability arguments; Alito not participating
The Supreme Court on Monday, Oct. 5, will hear oral argument in Suncor Energy Inc. v. County Commissioners of Boulder County, a dispute over whether federal law bars state-law climate-damages suits against energy companies, SCOTUSblog reported in an Oct. 1 case preview. Boulder sued Suncor and ExxonMobil in Colorado state court seeking compensation tied to alleged climate harms; the Colorado Supreme Court allowed the claims to proceed, and the U.S. Supreme Court granted review. Justice Samuel Alito announced Sept. 28 he will not participate, creating the possibility of a 4-4 tie that would leave the Colorado ruling in place without a nationwide precedent; the Trump administration filed a brief supporting the companies. Separately, after the Court on Wednesday vacated a Sixth Circuit stay in Nelsen v. Pike, Tennessee’s attempted execution of Christa Pike failed and Gov. Bill Lee paused remaining 2026 executions.
- SCOTUSblogSupreme Court to consider whether suit may go forward seeking to hold energy companies liable for climate change
- U.S. Supreme CourtNelsen v. Pike, No. 26A428 (application to vacate stay)