The Rhode Island Superior Court granted the State of Rhode Island’s motion to conduct jurisdictional discovery in the State’s lawsuit seeking to hold fossil fuel companies liable for climate change’s impacts on Rhode Island’s infrastructure and coastal communities. The companies have moved to dismiss the case for lack of personal jurisdiction on the grounds that they have insufficient contacts with the State. The companies also contend that there are no facts in dispute as to jurisdiction. The court noted that jurisdictional discovery should not be allowed when allegations of minimum contacts, even if true, would not be sufficient but found that in this case there was a sufficient alleged connection between the companies’ activities and Rhode Island’s injuries. The court was not persuaded that limited jurisdictional discovery would be burdensome to the defendants. The court described Rhode Island as “similarly situated” to small countries in other parts of the world that had presented at the most recent United Nations climate conference “that oil companies have benefitted billions in corporate profits at the expense of [small countries’] climate-related disasters that have caused severe destruction.” The court said attendees at the climate conference “were left with a similar question this Court might ultimately have to oversee: who pays for the damage and loss this State has had to incur from climate change effects?” The court stated that it saw “no compelling argument that would prevent Plaintiff from engaging in limited jurisdictional discovery, which, if fruitful, could help address the very question those small nations … faced.” The court limited discovery to the following issues: (1) defendants’ fossil-fuel business activity in Rhode Island during the times set forth in Rhode Island’s complaint; (2) defendants’ marketing and promotion of fossil-fuel products to Rhode Island consumers during the same time period; and (3) defendants’ historical knowledge of climate change impacts in the State of Rhode Island during that time period.

State of Rhode Island lawsuit seeking to hold fossil fuel companies liable for causing climate change impacts that adversely affect Rhode Island and jeopardize State-owned or -operated facilities, real property, and other assets.

Rhode Island v. Chevron Corp.

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Rhode Island Trial Court Allowed Jurisdictional Discovery in State’s Climate Case Against Fossil Fuel Companies

Filed

United States of America

Rhode Island

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