Lawyer Qs - Lawsuits against O&G for Climate Change

[wawa]

I've almost answered my own question here...so I wasnt going to post this, but I do still have big picture questions I guess, so here you go!  Join me at the bottom of this morning's rabbit hole.

So....a few years ago several jurisdictions filed suit against O&G companies for claims relating to climate change. A bunch of them were in maryland, I'm sure it was posted here, so the story was on my radar, and it came up again recently because annapolis is moving forward with the projects to mitigate future flooding at city dock.  So I was curious what ended up coming of this - but when I search for it, I'm having a hard time following along.   

Background links below - annapolis filing (2021), other jurisdictions doing the same (jan 2022), Baltimore's case working through procedural/jurisdiction questions (jan 2022, sept 2022)

www.npr.org/local/305/2021/02/25/971000557/annapolis-battling-sea-level-rise-sues-26-oil-companies
insideclimatenews.org/news/18102022/new-jersey-big-oil-lawsuit/
www.npr.org/2022/01/25/1075560742/oil-lawsuit-climate-change-baltimore
thedailyrecord.com/2022/09/19/baltimores-climate-change-suit-against-big-oil-heads-to-supreme-court-again/

And then the most recent thing I can find is that a few weeks ago a Petition for certiorari in the baltimore case went in front of the supreme court and was denied in April, but I am not a lawyer and don't understand what this means.  Mostly because I can't figure out what the prior decision was or what denial means.

www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/bp-p-l-c-v-mayor-and-city-council-of-baltimore-2/

So then I found this: harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-136/mayor-of-baltimore-v-bp-p-l-c/  Which mostly answered my question (i.e. they're still figuring out law shit and haven't even gotten into the actual meat of the lawsuit, but the thing is still rolling), but I guess I am curious if any of our lawyers or court savvy folks have an insight on like....is this latest development good?  bad?  indifferent?  Why do the oil companies want this to be tried federally?  does this most recent decision mean they're actually going to get into it soon, or is it still on a procedural merry-go-round?

How likely are these suits to actually succeed?  It feels like the suits against pharma for opioids or against tobacco for....tobacco.  Are those accurate parallels?  

[pixy0stix]

Ma'am, I didn't need a rabbit hole today.

[StrawberryBlondie]

I'll quick answer the easy one. A writ or certiorari is a request for the supreme court to review the case. If they denied it, it means the Supreme Court isn't going to hear the case - so whatever the appellate court decided is what stands.

[pixy0stix]

This article briefly states that state courts are more favorable to the plaintiffs than federal courts - www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/16/biden-administration-brief-colorado-climate-lawsuit-fossil-fuel-companies