A Colorado District Court in Boulder County denied fossil fuel company defendants’ motion to transfer the City of Boulder and Board of County Commissioners of Boulder County’s action seeking damages for climate change harms to Denver County District Court, but ruled that venue for the claims of the third plaintiff—the Board of County Commissioners of San Miguel County—would only be proper in San Miguel County. The court found that a forum selection clause in a 2009 Master Contract between one of the defendants and San Miguel County for sale and purchase of asphalt that specified Denver as the venue did not apply; nor did the forum selection clauses in “Confirmation Contracts” that the defendant and San Miguel County executed in 2018 and 2019 after this lawsuit commenced. The court found that the public nuisance venue statute did not apply because the plaintiffs sought damages, not an injunction to abate the nuisance; the court also found that venue was not proper in Boulder County under the venue statute for tort actions because the plaintiffs did not satisfy their burden of demonstrating that the alleged tortious conduct and deceptive trade practices did not occur in the county. In addition, the court declined to find venue was proper in Boulder County based on the defendant’s subsidiary’s production of fossil fuels in the county. The court agreed, however, with the City and County of Boulder that venue was proper under the statute governing venue in actions affecting real property because the City and County alleged direct injury to real property in the county and sought remedies related to that property. The court further found that the plaintiffs conceded that venue in Boulder County was not proper for San Miguel under this statute. Counsel for San Miguel County <a href="https://earthrights.org/media/colorado-fossil-fuel-accountability-case-will-continue-in-boulder-county-court/">indicated</a> that claims against a defendant that did not join the venue transfer motion would continue to be heard in Boulder County.

Action by Colorado local governments seeking damages and other relief from fossil fuel companies for climate change harms.

Board of County Commissioners of Boulder County v. Suncor Energy (U.S.A.), Inc.

<p>This entry was provided by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. Please see the terms of use for citation and licensing of third party data.</p>

Colorado Court Ruled on Venue for Colorado Local Governments’ Climate Change Claims

Filed

United States of America

Colorado

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Justice is the ethical and political framework that addresses fairness, including issues of responsibility, rights, and structural inequity.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

Financial support to help individuals manage the effects of unexpected events, securing their livelihoods and increasing the resilience of people and businesses to the changing climate. It’s especially vital in developing regions where everyday risks, climate-related weather extremes, or crop failures can push people into poverty. Without insurance, people may have to resort to selling assets or cutting consumption to cope with losses.

Zoning and spatial planning are both methods for guiding the distribution of people and activities in a space, and are regulatory restriction.

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

Actions or measures to adapt terrestrial systems to climate change.

Actions or measures to adapt freshwater systems to climate change.

Actions to adapt human health, healthcare systems and well-being to climate change.

Actions or measures to adapt freshwater, coastal and marine systems to climate change.

Extreme weather refers to events where a weather variable exceeds (or falls below) a threshold. Meaning it is significantly different from the average or usual weather pattern.

A drought is an extended period of unusually dry weather marked by a significant and sustained lack of precipitation, falling below a specific threshold over a large area for more than a month

Terrestrial means "of the earth" and relates to the risks to ecological system that includes all living organisms and their interactions within land-based environments, such as forests, grasslands, and deserts.

Air pollution involves harmful contaminants in the air, affecting both indoor and outdoor environments. It can lead to health issues like respiratory diseases and heart problems, and climate impacts such as global warming. Pollutants can damage plants, trees, habitats, and water bodies like rivers and lakes.

Oil is a combustible liquid fossil fuel composed mainly of hydrocarbons, occurring as crude oil and refined into petroleum products such as petrol, diesel and kerosene.

Fossil gas, commonly known as natural gas, is a fossil fuel consisting chiefly of methane with smaller amounts of other hydrocarbons and trace gases, found in underground deposits.

woman and genders outside of the gender binary

Activities of industries that extract natural resources, such as mining, oil, and gas, for commercial use.

This sector involves managing waste treatment, sanitation, pollution control and environmental cleanup.

Activities that involve planning, designing and building infrastructure, residential, and commercial structures.

This sector involves the wholesale and retail selling of goods.

This sector involves activities to move goods and people, alongside the storage of products.

This sector creates and distributes information and entertainment through television, radio, print, and digital platforms.

Activities of government agencies and institutions that provide public services, enforce laws and manage public resources.

This sector includes firms and individuals offering specialised expertise in fields such as law, accounting, consulting, science and engineering.

Activities of businesses and institutions that provide financial services and products to individuals and organisations.

Activities that involve the cultivation of crops and raising of livestock for food, fibre, and other products essential for human life and industry.

Activities that relate to the production of goods and services from forests.

This sector involves the distribution, treatment, and conservation of water resources.

Climate change can have a range of impacts on technological system. Extreme weather events can cause infrastructure failures like power outages or damage to roads and bridges, as well as the impacts from waste following natural disasters. Human activities also cause technological impacts, such as the risks posed by oil spillage and leaks.

Colorado Court Ruled on Venue for Colorado Local Governments’ Climate Change Claims

Policy instrument

Risk

Impacted group

Fossil fuel

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance