The Minnesota Supreme Court denied on April 15 a petition from ExxonMobil, Koch Industries, and the American Petroleum Institute seeking to dismiss Attorney General Keith Ellison’s climate deception lawsuit. This decision allows the case, originally filed in June 2020, to proceed to discovery after several years of legal delays.
The ruling is significant because it means that the allegations against major oil companies for deceiving Minnesotans about the causes of climate change will now be examined in court. The outcome could affect how similar lawsuits are handled elsewhere and determine who bears financial responsibility for addressing climate impacts.
Attorney General Keith Ellison said, “The courts are doing their job, and their decisions in this climate deception lawsuit are clear: Minnesotans have a case to be made, and we deserve our day in court. As we have said all along, our taxpayers should not be on the hook for the enormous financial costs of surviving the climate impacts resulting from these defendants’ deceptive conduct. Onward to discovery and trial.”
In earlier motions to dismiss, ExxonMobil, Koch Industries, and the American Petroleum Institute argued they were not subject to Minnesota jurisdiction and claimed unfair targeting for political activity. Both Ramsey County District Court in February 2025 and the Court of Appeals in January 2026 rejected these arguments before this week’s Supreme Court decision.
Since Attorney General Ellison first filed suit in state court in June 2020, defendants attempted multiple times to move or halt proceedings through federal courts. Each time—most recently with an unsuccessful appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court—their efforts were denied.
With Wednesday’s ruling by Minnesota’s highest court clearing remaining obstacles at this stage of litigation, discovery can now begin as part of ongoing efforts by state officials seeking accountability from oil industry defendants.
