A coalition of Republican-led states is supporting Exxon Mobil in its effort to convince the Supreme Court to overturn a landmark 2000 decision that upheld the ability of environmentalists to bring citizen lawsuits against polluters.
In a brief filed Friday with the high court, attorneys general led by JB McCuskey of West Virginia and Brenna Bird of Iowa urged the court to reverse a 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that denied Exxon’s request to overturn a record $14.25 million fine for pollution from a Houston-area refinery.
The December ruling relied in part on Friends of the Earth v. Laidlaw Environmental Services, which held that a “reasonable concern” about environmental harms could confer standing to environmentalists.
The attorneys general argued that the sharply splintered 5th Circuit ruling gives too much deference to unelected citizens who file lawsuits.
