Hawaiʻi secured a significant legal victory Wednesday, April 15, with U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaiʻi issuing an order to dismiss a lawsuit seeking to block a separate state lawsuit against major fossil fuel companies.
The United States in April 2025 sued the state of Hawai‘i, Gov. Josh Green and Attorney General Anne Lopez in federal court after learning that the Hawai‘i would file its own action to keep fossil fuel companies accountable for decades of deceptive marketing practices in the islands.
Hawai‘i filed its lawsuit as planned in state court and asked the federal court to dismiss the separate case lobbed by the United States.
The federal court granted the state’s motion in a decisive ruling, agreeing with Hawai‘i’s argument that the United States lacks standing to sue for hypothetical allegations that imposing liability on fossil fuel companies will have some harmful future effects on the federal government.
Also recognized, contrary to the allegations of the United States, was that Hawaiʻi’s state case seeks only to recover damages for harmful and deceptive marketing done in the state undertaken by fossil fuel companies; not to regulate international greenhouse gas emissions.
The court’s decision comes roughly a year after President Donald Trump ordered U.S. Department of Justice to take legal action against any state efforts to combat climate change, and 3 months after a similar case against the state of Michigan was dismissed.
“The climate crisis is here and Hawaiʻi taxpayers should not have to foot that bill when fossil fuel companies deceived and failed to warn consumers about the climate dangers lurking in their products,” said Hawaiʻi Gov. Green following the court’s decision. “The climate-deception lawsuit is about holding those parties accountable and shifting the costs of surviving the climate crisis back where they belong. Today’s decision allows the state to continue doing just that.”
Hawaiʻi’s lawsuit against fossil fuel companies will proceed in state court now that the federal case was dismissed.
“The United States’ lawsuit was an example of gross federal overreach,” said Hawaiʻi Attorney General Lopez following Wednesday’s federal court ruling. “The Department of the Attorney General is thrilled that the court agreed with our arguments and dismissed the United States’ complaint in its entirety. My department will continue to fight deceptive practices that erode Hawaiʻi’s public health, natural resources and economy.”
A copy of the court’s order can be found online.
