NAW files Supreme Court brief urging reversal of Boulder climate lawsuit

The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW) Legal Policy Center joined the Washington Legal Foundation and the NFIB Small Business Legal Center in filing an amicus curiae brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in Suncor Energy (U.S.A.) Inc. v. County Commissioners of Boulder County (No. 25-170), urging the Court to reverse the Colorado Supreme Court and dismiss a lawsuit NAW argues violates the constitutional framework governing interstate and international commerce.

“Boulder County is using state courts to accomplish what the Constitution forbids it from doing directly, regulating interstate and international commerce,” said Brian Wild, Chief Government Relations Officer for NAW. “This threat is not limited to oil companies. The 'marketing and sale' framing of Boulder's claims puts distributors of petroleum products, chemicals, lubricants, and similar goods at real legal risk.”

In Suncor v. Boulder, Boulder County and the City of Boulder are suing Suncor Energy and ExxonMobil under state tort law–including public nuisance, trespass, and unjust enrichment–seeking billions in damages for alleged climate-related harms. The Colorado Supreme Court ruled in May 2025 that the Clean Air Act does not preempt Boulder's state-law claims. The U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari on February 23, 2026, with oral argument expected during the Court's October 2026 sitting.

“With more than 90,000 local governments potentially able to file similar suits, the consequences for America's supply chain would be severe,” Wild added. “The Supreme Court should reverse the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision."

NAW's brief argues that Boulder cannot accomplish through litigation what it could never do through legislation. If its theory of liability is permitted to stand, the resulting litigation could expose the energy industry, which powers 83 percent of the domestic energy mix, to potentially bankrupting liability, chilling investment, reducing supply, and driving up costs that fall hardest on working Americans and the businesses that serve them.