South Carolina Court Dismisses Charleston’s Climate Lawsuit

Charleston, South Carolina’s climate lawsuit cannot move forward because the city’s claims exceed the bounds of state tort law, according to a state judge who dismissed the case Wednesday.

“Although Plaintiff’s claims purport to be about deception, they are premised on, and seek redress for, the effects of greenhouse gas emissions,” wrote Judge Roger M. Young of the South Carolina Court of Common Pleas, siding with Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp., and other energy defendants.

“While the scope of the state-law claims alleged here exceeds the recognized bounds of South Carolina law, Plaintiff’s theory of liability appears almost ...