A Hawaii judge has allowed Honolulu’s lawsuit against the oil and gas industry to move closer to trial.
First Circuit Court Judge Lisa Cataldo on Friday rejected four attempts by fossil fuel companies to dissolve the lawsuit brought by the city and county of Honolulu, writing in one order that she “cannot conclude that continued discovery efforts would be futile.”
The decision came a year after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up the fossil fuel industry’s claim that the lawsuit poses a threat to a sector that is “vital to economic and national security.”
In her rulings, Cataldo denied efforts by BP, Exxon Mobil and others to dismiss the 2020 lawsuit that seeks to force companies to help communities foot the bill for rising tides and worsening storms.
