Hawaii Climate Case Puts Federal Ties to Oil, Gas in Crosshairs

A federal appeals court judge on Thursday grilled attorneys for oil company giants and two Hawaii communities on whether federal ties to oil production are strong enough to throw a contested climate case out of state court.

The claims from the city and county of Honolulu as well as the county of Maui are “predicated” on oil and gas production, according to Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP partner Theodore J. Boutrous, representing Chevron Corp., Suncor LP, Exxon Mobil Corp., and other companies at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

The oil industry is appealing an ...