Justice Alito Recuses Himself from Major Climate Lawsuit Against Oil Companies

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito will not take part in a climate change case involving two oil companies and local governments in Colorado, the court announced Monday, one week before the justices are scheduled to hear arguments. In a letter, Supreme Court Clerk Scott Harris said Alito had decided he “will not continue to participate” in Suncor Energy Inc. v. County Commissioners of Boulder County. The letter gave no reason for his decision. Arguments are set for Oct. 5, the first day of the court’s new term. The case stems from a lawsuit brought by Boulder County and other Colorado local governments against Suncor Energy and ExxonMobil. They want to use state law to seek damages from the companies for their alleged contributions to climate change. The companies are asking the Supreme Court to decide whether federal law prevents the local governments from pursuing those claims. Alito’s withdrawal follows months of questions about his participation. In May, a coalition of 30 organizations asked the Senate Judiciary Committee to investigate his involvement in the case, pointing to his holdings in oil and gas companies. The groups also noted that Alito had stayed out of an earlier Supreme Court decision involving the same companies and dispute but participated when the justices agreed in February to hear the latest appeal. At the time, a Supreme Court spokeswoman told NBC News that Alito had no financial interest in any party to the case. She said the court’s legal counsel had advised him that he was not required to recuse himself. Monday’s letter does not say what led him to change course. The Supreme Court’s code of conduct says a justice should step aside when a reasonable person familiar with the circumstances might question the justice’s impartiality. It lists a financial interest in a party or in the subject of a case among the possible grounds for recusal. The court has not said whether either applies to Alito’s decision in Suncor. Alito also withdrew shortly before arguments in a separate oil industry case earlier this year. In that instance, the court explained that he held a financial interest in ConocoPhillips, whose subsidiary remained a party in a lower court despite withdrawing from the Supreme Court proceedings. The court provided no comparable explanation Monday for his withdrawal from the Colorado case.