Alito recuses from case that could toss climate suits against oil companies

Justice Samuel Alito on Monday recused from a major climate case set to be heard next week, stepping aside with no explanation after previously participating in the vote to take up the dispute.

Alito has long held financial interests in the oil and gas sector, and as one of the only justices to own individual stocks, he recuses more frequently than any of his colleagues. But typically, those decisions are announced earlier.

“I am writing to inform the parties that Justice Alito has determined that he will not continue to participate in this case,” read a letter from the court clerk to the parties in the case. The letter did not provide further explanation.

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court announced it had decided to take up the matter , an appeal from oil companies Suncor Energy and Exxon Mobil seeking to toss a case by the city and county of Boulder, Colo., blaming them for climate change.

It has emerged as a blockbuster attempt to leverage state law to force the industry to pay billions in damages, becoming one of the most closely watched disputes of the upcoming Supreme Court term, which kicks off next Monday. It’s the first case set to be argued.

According to his latest financial disclosure , Alito does not have holdings in Exxon or Suncor, but does own stocks in roughly two dozen companies, including oil firms Phillips 66 and ConocoPhillips.

While this case pertains to Exxon and Suncor, others around the country are seeking to hold various fossil fuel companies accountable for climate change, so the court’s ruling could have implications for related cases currently and in the future, and could ultimately impact firms that are not directly involved in the Boulder litigation.

Alito also owns what he describes on his disclosures as a “mineral interest” in Grady County, Okla.

His investments regularly prompt him to step aside as the justices comb through thousands of requests to take up cases each year. This term, Alito has recused from 22 petitions the court turned away and a separate case the court took up, according to The Hill’s analysis of the docket.

His recusal in that case came unusually late, too, and the announcement at the time blamed the parties. One of the companies involved claimed it was withdrawing from the suit, but the justice said that turned out not to be true.

Unlike that letter, the court clerk’s announcement on Monday contained no explanation. The Hill has requested additional comment from the justice through the court’s public information office.

At issue in the underlying case is whether federal law preempts state-level claims of climate-related injury. The oil companies are arguing that in suing them for damages, Boulder is attempting to influence energy policy for the entire country.

Boulder has said it has a right to hold the companies accountable for harms they have caused.

When it agreed to take the case, the Supreme Court justices also said they would weigh whether the high court has the right to hear the case in the first place.