Samuel Alito recuses himself from climate liability case Suncor v. Boulder

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito recused himself from a closely watched case on climate change liability less than a week before oral arguments were set to begin.

Scott Harris, clerk of the Supreme Court, informed the parties’ attorneys in a letter Monday that Alito had recused himself from the Suncor Energy Inc. case against the Boulder County Commissioners, without providing an explanation.

“Justice Alito does not take his duty to sit lightly. We do not know why he recused himself, as the reason has not been made public, but I do not expect his recusal to ultimately change the outcome of the Suncor v. Boulder case,” Carrie Severino, president of JCN, told Fox News Digital.

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Samuel Alito, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, on October 7, 2022 in Washington, DC (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

The justices were expected to kick off the 2026-2027 term by hearing oral arguments in Suncor v. Boulder Monday. The case focuses on whether Boulder, Colorado, can use its tort claims under state law to sue oil and gas companies for their alleged role in contributing to climate change.

The case has drawn attention from Republicans, who say Colorado officials are using the legal system as a weapon to push through their environmental agenda.

“What they’re doing is they’re moving into these cities and states, and using tort litigation, mass tort litigation, public nuisance suits in state courts, and in a coordinated way to get the same type of result, but without having to go through their democratically elected representatives,” Steve Cox, former Alaska attorney general and current attorney for Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, said at a conference phone call Tuesday.

“This is not a fight against climate change,” said OH Skinner, former Arizona solicitor general and executive director of the Consumer Alliance, during a conference call Tuesday. “This is not a fight over climate science.”

“It’s a fight over whether we’re going to allow this maneuver to reshape American society, and that’s why I think everyone should care about this, regardless of their views on climate change or their views on how to solve this or that problem. Do you want the courts to be our primary policy makers?”

Skinner acknowledged that Alito did not make his decision lightly, but said it is “never good for the court” when a judge is absent in a decision.

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The Supreme Court is seen at the Capitol in Washington, December 17, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, file)

“This is part of why the left constantly yelling at judges about recusal and other things is counterproductive to the country,” Skinner said. “It doesn’t help the court not to have its full complement.”

“At the same time, he made this decision knowing all of this and based on his own personal considerations, and we will never know all the details of it. Ultimately, it doesn’t help the court that it’s not fully staffed, but it’s also not something that we think will be decisive in the case, and it’s not something that we think is remarkable, other than that he made this decision based on his own considerations and didn’t made lightly, and he makes the right choice in his mind,” Skinner continued.

Alito’s last-minute decision to recuse himself from the high-stakes climate case follows his January recusal in Chevron USA Inc. v. Plaquemines Parish, a dispute over coastal erosion in Louisiana, because he owned stock in ConocoPhillips, the parent company of one of the parties in the related litigation, Burlington Resources Oil and Gas Company.

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WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 13: Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court Elena Kagan participates in a discussion at George Washington University Law School on September 13, 2016 in Washington, DC. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Justice Elena Kagan faced calls to recuse herself in Suncor v. Boulder because she wrote the foreword to the Scientific Evidence Reference Manual, which included a chapter on climate science that was later criticized by Congress and Republican attorneys general as biased and was ultimately removed.

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In July, more than a dozen legal groups, in a letter led by Severino, urged the Senate Judiciary Committee to open an investigation.

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“Justice Kagan’s approval of the partisan and now-deleted chapter on climate science from the judges’ reference manual continues to raise questions about her ability to decide the case impartially. I hope she takes her own ethical obligation seriously.”