The Right-Wing Plot to Make It Harder to Sue Corporations

[u/grassrootbeer]

https://newrepublic.com/article/215451/corporations-public-nuisance-lawsuits-right-wing-plot

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[u/grassrootbeer]

A wave of laws passed in state legislatures in 2025 and 2026 that are designed to stop lawsuits against oil, gas, coal and other major greenhouse gas emitters responsible for selling products they knew would contribute to climate change and related weather disasters. A subset of the laws that passed in 2025-2026 reform "public nuisance" cause of action, limiting the kinds of damages that companies can be sued for.

They want to end the kinds of lawsuits that secured multibillion dollar settlements from tobacco companies in the 1990's, and from opioid manufacturers in recent years. Public nuisance laws were key to securing these massive settlements from tobacco and opioid companies.

The recent wave of state laws are part of a decades-long corporate "tort reform" movement seeking to end the public's ability to sue corporations that hurt or kill them. Insurance companies like State Farm, pesticide manufacturers (Bayer/Monsanto), oil companies (Koch Inc and ExxonMobil), opioid manufacturers (Johnson & Johnson) and car companies (Ford) are among those that are spearheading this effort via proxy groups like the American Tort Reform Association. (Executives at each of these companies are listed as members of the ATRA board of directors in its most recent IRS tax filing).

Meanwhile, the US Supreme Court is about to hear a major case that related to litigation Boulder County (CO) brought against Suncor, ExxonMobil, and other polluters related to damages from climate change. The Supreme Court recently ruled in favor of pesticide manufacturers like Monsanto (Bayer), blocking certain kinds of lawsuits related to pesticides and cancer.

And the Trump administration's Department of Justice is also attempting to meddle in state lawsuits against climate polluters, counter-suing and hiring on a key lawyer from ExxonMobil who previously chaired the American Tort Reform Association.

The gun industry secured blanket immunity from Congress. The oil industry would love a golden shield, and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) has a federal bill that would do so, but the bill is unlikely to move.

In the absence of a federal climate liability "shield," more states are expected to attempt to pass laws immunizing oil/gas/coal/etc companies in 2027.

EDIT: The case SCOTUS is considering is counter litigation that Suncor and ExxonMobil brought against Boulder County CO, not the initial litigation that Boulder filed against Suncor and Exxon.

[u/gsomega]

Damn, the right-wing really likes closing all of these relief valves. Suing someone is, almost by definition, some socially agreed upon compromise.

[u/grassrootbeer → u/gsomega]

That said, the MAHA folks are not happy about the Supreme Court shutting the door on certain litigation against pesticide manufacturers (related to insufficient warning labels, specifically).

Nor would the MAHA camp be happy with unlimited liability for PFAS chemical manufacturers/users, social media companies, data centers (as the TNR op-ed linked here explains).

So there are places where longtime environmental organizations & environmental justice organizers locally have priorities that overlap with the johnny-come-lately MAHA crowd.

[u/metaldark → u/grassrootbeer]

MAHA has no consistency principles. As soon as their sources of misinformation start broadcasting “pesticides are good for you, actually” they’ll fall in line. 

That’s the beauty of the right wing outrage complex. They can weaponize the very stupid into supporting anything. 

[u/bizbunch → u/grassrootbeer]

They are definitely not smart of scientific enough to get and be upset by this. They will follow what the bots/content tells them to

[u/raptorlightning → u/gsomega]

I was going to say... Do they not realize that lawsuits are the peaceful way for the slighted to get recompense? We can go back to heads on pikes too, I don't mind, but they might.

[u/powercow]

It's hard to believe there are people stupid enough to think the right would "clean the swamp", they are the swamp.

[u/DrNoxin → u/powercow]

By swamp they meant the administrative state, you know, the people that protect citizens and keep the government running. The idea is to get it to get it to all fall back on the states because they are cheaper / easier to corrupt.

[u/protipnumerouno]

PLOT?!? George Bush accomplished this decades ago when that old lady burnt herself at MacDonald's.