Alito Sits Out Boulder Climate Appeal Ahead of Arguments
Justice Samuel Alito will sit out the Supreme Court appeal brought by Suncor Energy and ExxonMobil in the Boulder, Colorado, climate case. Reuters The decision was announced on September 28, 2026, just before oral arguments, the session where lawyers appear in person to answer questions.
A short Court letter said, "Justice Alito has determined that he will not continue to participate in this case." No reason was given. The Guardian The notice did not explain the decision or its timing.
Oral arguments in the ExxonMobil and Suncor Energy case were scheduled for the week after September 28, 2026. CNBC Alito stepped aside before those arguments. The Hill The Court had agreed in February to hear the appeal, a request to review a lower-court decision.
Local officials in Boulder filed the underlying lawsuit against Suncor Energy and ExxonMobil. The companies are asking the Supreme Court to end that suit. The Trump administration backed the companies' request for the Court to hear the case.
The Boulder suit is one of dozens claiming fossil-fuel companies misled the public about how fossil fuels contribute to climate change. Filed by states and local governments, these cases form a separate legal track focused on alleged deception rather than direct limits on emissions.
Alito had faced calls to step aside from the Boulder case because he holds oil company stock. Disclosures cited in reporting state he does not own stock in Suncor Energy or ExxonMobil. The same disclosures list stock in other oil companies, including ConocoPhillips and Phillips 66.
The broader context here is about process on a short timeline. A recusal without a stated reason keeps the public record thin by design. For the lawyers involved, the questions are practical. Briefs are written and moots, or practice arguments, are done, so plans must now adjust to a smaller bench. Votes, questioning and coalition-building among the remaining justices all shift, even when the legal questions stay the same.
In my view, Boulder is worth watching as an early test for a wider strategy. Dozens of deception-based suits are pending, and a Supreme Court ruling on the industry appeal could shape whether and how those claims move forward. Executive backing for review adds political weight to the industry position, aligning federal support with the corporate appeals against locally brought claims. The disclosure dispute is also instructive. Holding stock in oil companies that are not parties to the case is not the same as a direct stake in Suncor or ExxonMobil, yet it can still bring pressure for recusal when the industry is under scrutiny. The Court will now move to argument without settling that debate on the record, and attention will turn to what the remaining justices ask and how they reason.
