Federal-State Conflicts
Description
This panel will examine the Supreme Court’s role in resolving conflicts between federal and state authority across a range of emerging legal issues. The discussion will center on the highly watched pending case, Suncor Energy Inc. v. Board of County Commissioners of Boulder County, which raises questions about federal preemption and the relationship between federal environmental law and state common-law claims concerning climate change. The panel will also speculate about the Court’s role in the ongoing litigation involving state regulation of mifepristone, in addition to the pending cert petition involving the preemptive effect of the National Bank Act, and changes to the evolving doctrine of state standing.
Materials for Panel
Pending Cases
Suncor Energy Inc. v. Board of County Commissioners of Boulder County
- Description: Since 2017, at least sixty states and local governments have sued private energy companies alleging that their sale of fossil fuels has caused injury by contributing to climate change. Boulder County, Colorado initiated this suit levying state law claims against Suncor Energy, Inc. including public and private nuisance, trespass, and unjust enrichment. The Court granted certiorari to decide (1) whether federal law precludes state-law claims seeking relief for injuries allegedly caused by the effects of interstate and international greenhouse-gas emissions on the global climate and (2) whether the Court has statutory and Article III jurisdiction to hear this case.
- Reading Materials:
- Lower Court Opinion (Supreme Court of Colorado)
- Brief of Appellants (Supreme Court of Colorado)
- Brief of Appellee (Supreme Court of Colorado)
- Petition for Writ of Certiorari
- Brief of Respondents
- Reply of Petitioners
- Brief of Petitioners
- Amicus Brief by Jonathan Adler
- Brief of the United States
- Reading Materials:
Other Reading Materials
- U.S. Supreme Court Decides to Hear Climate Case Against ExxonMobil and Suncor Entities - Boulder County, CO
- Supreme Court allows for access to abortion pill by mail for now - Amy Howe, SCOTUSblog
- Resisting Federal Preemption - Desiree LeClerq, Alabama Law Review
- U.S. Supreme Court declines to review First Circuit’s Conti decision on NBA preemption - ABA Banking Journal
- Ten States Take on the OCC Over National Bank Preemption of State Escrow-Interest Laws - Alan S Kaplinskly, Ballard Spahr LLP, National Law Review
- How Trump’s EPA rollbacks give US states new tools in climate suits - Dharna Noor, The Guardian