Description: Lawsuit seeking to hold fossil fuel companies liable for the consequences of climate change in Anne Arundel County, Maryland.
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Anne Arundel County v. BP p.l.c.
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 06/27/2022 Order Download Court reserved ruling on defendants' motion to stay proceedings. Parties to Proceed with Briefing of Remand Motions in Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Climate Cases. The federal district court for the District of Maryland said it would reserve ruling on fossil fuel companies’ motions to stay proceedings in climate change cases brought by the City of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County until briefing on the plaintiffs’ motions to remand was complete. The companies had asked the court to stay proceedings pending their petition for writ of certiorari in the Baltimore case and any subsequent merits review by the Supreme Court. The district court in the Anne Arundel County and Annapolis cases reopened the cases on April 27, 2022 after the Fourth Circuit affirmed the remand order in Baltimore’s case. In its letter order reserving its ruling on the motions to stay, the district court acknowledged the “potential expenditure of unnecessary time and resources associated with” briefing the remand motions, given uncertainty about the certiorari petitions, but expressed a desire “to be well positioned to advance the cases expeditiously if certiorari is denied.” 05/25/2022 Motion Download Motion to stay proceedings filed by defendants. 05/12/2022 Order Briefing schedule approved. 05/11/2022 Request Download Parties filed joint proposal and [proposed] order regarding briefing schedule on motion for stay and motion for remand. 04/27/2022 Order Download Case reopened and stay lifted after Fourth Circuit's decision in Baltimore case. 04/21/2022 Not Available Download Joint submission filed regarding Fourth Circuit decision in Baltimore. 06/28/2021 Motion Download Motion to remand to state court filed. Anne Arundel County, Maryland filed a motion in federal court in Maryland to remand its case to state court. The County acknowledged that proceedings had been stayed but said it was filing the motion “out of abundance of caution and to avoid inadvertent waiver.” The County said it would file a memorandum in support of the motion after the stay was lifted. The motion previewed the County’s arguments, including that the federal court lacked jurisdiction because the County asserted only state law claims, and that the case was not removable under the Outer Continental Lands Shelf Act or the federal-officer removal statute or based on federal enclave jurisdiction. 06/01/2021 Order Download Stipulation to stay of proceedings so-ordered. On June 1, 2021, the district court so-ordered the parties’ stipulation to a stay of the proceedings pending the Fourth Circuit’s decision on remand in the Baltimore case. 05/27/2021 Notice of Removal Download Notice of removal filed by defendants Chevron Corporation and Chevron U.S.A., Inc. -
Anne Arundel County v. BP p.l.c.
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 04/26/2021 Complaint Download Complaint filed. Maryland County Filed Climate Change Lawsuit Against Fossil Fuel Companies and Trade Group. Anne Arundel County, Maryland filed a lawsuit in state court against fossil fuel companies and American Petroleum Institute seeking to hold them liable for the physical, environmental, social, and economic consequences of climate change in Anne Arundel County. (Annapolis, a city in the county, previously filed a separate lawsuit against fossil fuel companies.) In its lawsuit, the County asserted claims of public nuisance, private nuisance, strict liability for failure to warn, negligent failure to warn, trespass, and violations of the Maryland Consumer Protection Act. The County alleged that the defendants, despite knowing for more than 50 years that greenhouse gas emissions from their fossil fuel products would have significant adverse impacts on climate and sea levels, concealed the risks of climate change and promoted false and misleading information, including campaigns targeted at County residents to create doubts regarding the impacts of fossil fuels. The County asserted that the defendants were “directly responsible for a substantial portion of the climate crisis-related impacts in Anne Arundel County,” including sea level rise, storm surge, and flooding, as well as more frequent, longer-lasting, and more severe extreme weather events. The County seeks compensatory and punitive damages, equitable relief, attorney fees and costs of suit, and disgorgement of profits, as well as recovery for injury or loss sustained as a result of practices barred by the Consumer Protection Act.