Supreme Court climate showdown jolted by Alito's last-minute decision
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito recused himself from a closely watched case over climate change liability less than a week before oral arguments were scheduled to begin.Scott Harris, the clerk...
By Fox News · Fox News
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito recused himself from a closely watched case over climate change liability less than a week before oral arguments were scheduled to begin. Scott Harris, the clerk of the Supreme Court, informed the parties' lawyers in a letter Monday that Alito had recused himself from Suncor Energy Inc. v. County Commissioners of Boulder County without providing an explanation. "Justice Alito does not take his duty to sit lightly. We do not know why he recused himself, as the reason has not been made public, but I do not expect his recusal to ultimately change the outcome of Suncor v. Boulder," Carrie Severino, president of JCN, told Fox News Digital. LAWSUITS COST EVERY AMERICAN HOUSEHOLD THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS. SUPREME COURT CAN HELP The justices were scheduled to kick off the 2026-27 term by hearing oral arguments in Suncor v. Boulder on Monday. The case centers on whether Boulder, Colorado, can use its state-law tort claims to sue oil and gas companies over their alleged role in contributing to climate change. The case has drawn scrutiny from Republicans, who argue Colorado officials are weaponizing the court system to get their environmental agenda enacted. "What they're doing is they're going around to these cities and these states, and using tort litigation, mass tort litigation, public nuisance lawsuits in state courts, and in a coordinated way to effectuate the same kind of a result, but just without having to go through their democratically elected officials," Steve Cox, former Alaska attorney general and current counsel to Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy , said in a Tuesday conference call. "It's not a fight about climate change," O.H. Skinner, former Arizona solicitor general and executive director of the Alliance for Consumers, said during a Tuesday conference call. "It's not a fight about climate science." "It's a fight about whether we're going to allow this maneuver to be what reshapes American society, and that's why I think everybody sho…