Energy companies urge First Circuit to uphold dismissal of PR municipalities’ climate lawsuit

By THE STAR STAFF

Dozens of major energy companies are asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to affirm the dismissal of a sweeping climate‑related lawsuit filed by nearly 40 Puerto Rico municipalities, arguing the case was brought years too late and relies on legal theories already rejected nationwide.

In a joint response brief, filed in case 25-1961 on Aug. 11, companies including Exxon Mobil, Shell, Chevron, BP, ConocoPhillips, Motiva and the American Petroleum Institute contend that the municipalities’ claims, centered on damages from hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, are barred by the applicable statutes of limitations. The municipalities first sued in November 2022, alleging the storms were intensified by climate change and that the defendants engaged in a decades‑long campaign to mislead the public about fossil fuels’ risks.

The companies argue the municipalities “knew or should have known” of both their injuries and the alleged basis for suing long before filing, pointing to extensive public reporting and earlier climate litigation. The brief notes that by September 2017, news outlets were already publishing articles tying the storms to climate change, including a Vox report stating that Hurricane Maria “plowed through unusually warm oceans” and intensified rapidly. The filing also cites years of lawsuits brought by other states and cities alleging similar deception by fossil‑fuel producers.

The defendants say the municipalities cannot rely on fraudulent‑concealment arguments to toll the limitations period, asserting the complaint fails to plead fraud with the specificity required under federal rules.

The district court dismissed the case in September 2025, concluding that the municipalities waited too long to sue and that no tolling doctrine applied. The defendants now urge the First Circuit to affirm, arguing that “the injury and which entities to sue and on what basis were all readily apparent from the coverage in the popular press, the court cases, and the reports.”

The appeal remains pending.