Rhode Island lawsuit against Big Oil may end as San Francisco, Oakland suit did

Fox News senior judicial analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano on Tuesday compared Rhode Island’s lawsuit against big oil companies to a similar suit filed by cities in California.

San Francisco and Oakland sued Exxon Mobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Royal Dutch Shell and BP for their alleged roles in climate change. Federal Judge William Alsup, who presided over the lawsuit, ruled in favor of the oil companies but acknowledged the harmful effects of fossil fuels.

“We just had a lawsuit just like this brought by the cities of San Francisco and Oakland against the same oil companies and a federal judge in San Francisco threw the case out, wouldn’t even let it go to a jury because the proofs in the case are wanting. This is a political argument; it is not a scientific argument,” he told FOX Business’ Charles Payne on “Varney & Co.”

Rhode Island is suing multiple oil companies, including energy powerhouse Exxon Mobil over its alleged role in contributing to global warming and rising sea levels. Napolitano however, contends that even if the oil giant admits to the existence of climate change that still doesn’t mean the company is liable for the consequences of it.

“There would be a great number of scientific proofs that have to pass muster, so a judge would have to say, ‘Okay a jury looking at this could come to this conclusion’. The people in California … could not prove it, the same thing will happen in Rhode Island,” he said. “Fact you can even argue this Rhode Island case is frivolous because it will be governed by what was found in California.”