A judge ruled against the Town of Carrboro on Friday in the local government’s lawsuit against Duke Energy, which aimed to hold the utility provider accountable for its role in climate change and sought damages suffered by extreme weather events.
Following arguments held in September, Superior Court Judge Mark Davis dismissed the lawsuit, granting Duke Energy’s motion filed last March that argued a lack of subject matter jurisdiction. In his written opinion, Davis said Carrboro did have standing to bring the lawsuit as a property owner seeking damages from “unwanted nuisances and intrusions” onto its property, but the judge ruled that not only were some of Carrboro’s claims preempted by federal law, the argument was so broad that it was “clearly nonjusticiable” thanks to the political question doctrine.
