Supreme Court signals it will let fuel producers sue over California emission standards

The Supreme Court indicated Wednesday that it will revive a lawsuit from fuel producers challenging California’s strict vehicle emission rules, with both conservative and liberal justices signaling that companies have standing to sue.

The Supreme Court indicated Wednesday that it will revive a lawsuit from fuel producers challenging California’s strict vehicle emission rules, with both conservative and liberal justices signaling that the companies have standing to sue. Several of the justices suggested a federal appeals court in Washington, DC, erred when it barred the fuel makers’ suit on the theory that market forces are driving the national push toward electric vehicles far more than California’s tough regulations. “Wasn’t the goal of the California regulations to reduce the use of petitioner’s fuel?” Justice Clarence Thomas, a conservative, pointedly asked the attorney representing the EPA, suggesting that dynamic gave the companies a reason to sue over the policy. Thomas wasn’t alone in that view. Justice Elena Kagan, a member of the court’s liberal wing, noted that when the Environmental Protection Agency reestablished the waiver during the Biden administration, officials at the time suggested they were doing so to reduce reliance on fossil fuels. “Didn’t the EPA, in fact, in its submission to the courts, say that the effect of the reinstatement was going to be to reduce gasoline emissions?” Kagan asked. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, another conservative, noted that the federal government didn’t challenge whether the fuel makers could sue in the DC appeals court.