City Climate Change Suits Against Oil Companies Tossed by Judge

BP Plc, Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. escaped blame for the public costs of global warming when a U.S. judge ruled that lawsuits by cities against oil companies aren’t the answer to climate change.

“The problem deserves a solution on a more vast scale than can be supplied by a district judge or jury in a public nuisance case,” U.S. District Judge William Alsup wrote June 25 in dismissing complaints by the cities of San Francisco and Oakland, Calif.

Litigation by local governments in the U.S. including New York City, Boulder, Colorado, and eight California cities and counties ...