Mayor & City Cncl. of Balt. v. B.P. P.L.C.

Summary

The Supreme Court of Maryland affirmed dismissal of local-government tort claims against oil and gas companies for climate-related injuries. It held that the claims seek to regulate interstate and international greenhouse-gas emissions, making them subject to federal law; the Clean Air Act displaces any applicable federal common-law claims and does not authorize the asserted state-law claims. The court further held that, even absent displacement or preemption, the complaints fail to state claims for public or private nuisance, trespass, or negligent and strict-liability failure to warn.