On January 23, 2025, the Maryland Circuit Court in Anne Arundel County dismissed the City of Annapolis’s and Anne Arundel County’s lawsuits seeking to hold fossil fuel industry defendants liable under state law for harms allegedly suffered as a result of climate change. The City and County asserted claims under Maryland common law and the Maryland Consumer Protection Act. The court had issued a decision in May 2024 deferring a decision on the defendants’ motions to dismiss for failure to state a claim. In its January 23 decision, however, the court wrote that it was “persuaded on this second go-around” by the defendants’ authorities (including the Supreme Court’s 2011 decision in <a href="https://climatecasechart.com/case/american-electric-power-co-v-connecticut/">American Electric Power Co. v. Connecticut</a> in 2011) and the Circuit Court for Baltimore City’s dismissal in July 2024 of Baltimore’s similar lawsuit against fossil fuel industry defendants. The Anne Arundel County Circuit Court also cited the Superior Court decision granting in part and denying in part motions to dismiss the State of Delaware’s <a href="https://climatecasechart.com/case/state-v-bp-america-inc/">case</a> against fossil fuel companies. The Anne Arundel County Circuit Court concluded that Anne Arundel County’s and City of Annapolis’s claims were federally preempted, “possibly by federal common law but surely by the Federal Clean Air Act.”  The court also wrote that “[t]he clear message to be had, and this Court gets it, is as Justice Ginsburg for a unanimous Supreme Court says [in American Electric Power Co.] is that there is a prescribed order of decision-making—first by the expert then by federal judges. If states and municipalities even private parties are dissatisfied with the Federal rule making or the outcome of cases, they may seek federal court review.” The court found that it was not necessary to consider individual state law claims, concluding that if its decision dismissing the cases was reversed, the cases would “no doubt come back on remand regardless of this Court’s decision on the state law claims.” The Capital Gazette <a href="https://www.capitalgazette.com/2025/01/27/climate-suits-dismissed/">reported</a> that the County would appeal the dismissal and that the City was “keeping options open for what comes next.”

Lawsuit seeking to hold fossil fuel companies liable for the consequences of climate change in Anne Arundel County, Maryland.

Anne Arundel County v. BP p.l.c.

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Maryland Trial Court Dismissed Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Climate Suits Against Fossil Fuel Defendants

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United States of America

Maryland

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Maryland Trial Court Dismissed Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Climate Suits Against Fossil Fuel Defendants

Risk

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas