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Paul, Weiss won a significant victory for Exxon Mobil Corporation when a Puerto Rico federal court dismissed a putative class action brought by numerous Puerto Rico municipalities over the risks of climate change.

In November 2022, 37 Puerto Rican municipalities sued a number of oil and gas companies, including ExxonMobil, alleging they had misled the public for decades about the risks posed by fossil fuels, thereby exacerbating climate change and, in particular, contributing to two hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico during the 2017 hurricane season.

In January 2024, ExxonMobil and the other defendants filed motions to dismiss, arguing, among other things, that the plaintiffs’ claims were barred by the applicable statutes of limitations, and that the complaint failed to state viable claims under federal and Puerto Rico law. ExxonMobil also filed an individual motion to dismiss for failure to plead fraud with the requisite specificity.

U.S. District Court Judge Carreño-Coll agreed with the defendants that the plaintiffs’ claims are time-barred and dismissed the claims against ExxonMobil with prejudice. Judge Carreño-Coll also concluded that the plaintiffs’ claims were not salvageable under any equitable doctrine, including the continuing violation and fraudulent concealment doctrines.

Judge Carreño-Coll’s dismissal of the municipalities’ lawsuit is the latest in a series of recent victories Paul, Weiss has secured for ExxonMobil in similar climate cases, which include the dismissals of cases brought by the City of Charleston; Bucks County, Pennsylvania; the State of New Jersey; Anne Arundel County, Maryland; Annapolis, Maryland; the City of Baltimore, and the State of Delaware.

The Paul, Weiss team includes litigation partners Ted Wells, Dan Toal and Yahonnes Cleary, and counsel Caitlin Grusauskas.