By Suzanne Downing 
A US District Court judge in Puerto Rico dismissed a major climate lawsuit brought by nearly 40 Puerto Rican municipalities against some of the world’s largest oil and gas companies, ending a high-profile challenge that sought to link fossil fuel deception to the devastation caused by Hurricanes Irma and Maria.
Judge Silvia Carreño-Coll issued the order Thursday, tossing out the claims against ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, BP, ConocoPhillips, Motiva, Occidental, BHP, Rio Tinto, and the American Petroleum Institute. The suit, filed in November 2022, alleged the companies conspired to conceal the climate risks of fossil fuels and that their actions intensified the catastrophic 2017 storms.
Carreño-Coll dismissed the case on procedural grounds, finding the plaintiffs missed the legal deadline to bring their claims. Under federal antitrust law, municipalities had four years from the hurricanes to sue. “By September 2021, the 2017 hurricanes’ four-year mark, Plaintiffs knew or should have known they had suffered considerable injury and who to sue,” she wrote.
The ruling permanently bars claims against ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, BP, ConocoPhillips, and Motiva, which were dismissed with prejudice. Claims against Occidental, BHP, and Rio Tinto were dismissed without prejudice, allowing municipalities to potentially refile on narrower grounds.
The decision marks a setback for climate litigation efforts nationwide. More than two dozen similar cases are currently pending in state and federal courts, with outcomes ranging from outright dismissal to active discovery phases. Puerto Rico’s case stood out for its ambition—tying the damages from two specific hurricanes to allegations of industry-wide deception about fossil fuel risks.
For the island’s municipalities, the ruling closes one avenue of assigning blame and skimming money after for the destruction wrought by Irma and Maria.
Suzanne Downing
This is nothing short of lawfare. There is absolutely no way that these claims could ever be proven in a court of law. The only way these claims have gained traction is by brainwashing along with repeated and unrelenting propaganda, even then only a small section of easily deceived people buy into it. It’s unfortunate that it’s only a procedural victory because it won’t dissuade future lawfare until the people bringing the fraudulent lawsuits are forced to pay the cost.
As you know the justice system portrays itself as a constitutional service to citizens. However, we know it is a monopolistic cabal designed to profit its members. The judges are in the same club as both the plaintiff and defendant lawyers (ABA). It is a construct of imagery for naive viewers to be deceived….