Reynolds v. Florida

Eight Florida residents, all age 19 or younger, filed a lawsuit in Florida state court alleging that the State of Florida, the Florida governor, and other state officials and agencies violated their fundamental rights to a stable climate system under Florida common law and the Florida constitution. The complaint asserted that the defendants’ “contributions to climate change and creation and operation of a fossil fuel-based energy system have caused widespread harm to the Plaintiffs and the natural resources in Florida.” The plaintiffs claimed that the defendants had breached their fiduciary duty to protect Florida’s public trust resources and asserted that defendants had such a duty under a common law public trust doctrine explicitly codified in the Florida constitution. The plaintiffs also asserted that their substantive due process rights under the Florida constitution had been violated. The plaintiffs seek declaratory relief as well as orders requiring the defendants to prepare a consumption-based inventory of Florida’s greenhouse gas emissions and to “prepare and implement an enforceable comprehensive statewide remedial plan, including specific dates and benchmark targets, to phase out fossil fuel use and draw down excess atmospheric CO2 through forest and soil protection.”