A federal district court in Michigan has dismissed the state's antitrust lawsuit against BP, Chevron, Exxon, Shell, and the American Petroleum Institute. The state had claimed the companies conspired for decades to suppress renewable energy, leading to higher prices and a range of other harms, from higher insurance premiums to depressed home values. Michigan sought treble damages, civil penalties, and an injunction.
The court rejected most of these claims, stating that the alleged harms did not qualify as antitrust injuries under federal law. The only injury the court recognized was overcharges for energy, but it ruled Michigan could not recover those because the state was an indirect purchaser under the Illinois Brick doctrine. The court also found the link between the alleged conspiracy and any overcharges was too speculative to show proximate cause.
With the federal claim dismissed with prejudice, the court declined to hear Michigan's state-law claims. The decision does not address the separate climate tort litigation that is set to reach the U.S. Supreme Court in the case Suncor Energy v. Boulder County, which raises different legal questions.