GOVERNMENT
By Fraser Sherman
Correspondent
CARRBORO – Carrboro Town Council voted Tuesday to sue Duke Energy; the lawsuit was filed on Wednesday.
Carrboro v. Duke Energy, which the Lewis & Roberts law firm filed in Superior Court, says the town and its residents have suffered measurable damage and financial losses due to Duke’s alleged refusal to deal with climate change. While there have been several climate-change lawsuits against oil companies, Carrboro says this is the first such lawsuit against an electric utility.
“Our town is the first in the nation to sue an electric utility for deceiving the public,” said Mayor Barbara Foushee at a Wednesday press conference. “The town of Carrboro is seeking compensation for damages we’ve suffered and will continue to suffer because of Duke Energy’s climate deception campaign, which has spanned several decades.”
Attorney Matthew Quinn, a partner at Lewis & Roberts, said that the legal fees for the case will be paid by NC Warn, a clean energy and climate justice nonprofit, not by the town.
Carrboro’s case
The lawsuit charges that Duke knew for decades that it was contributing to climate change, but chose to do nothing. Not only that, Duke “participated in a campaign of deception to conceal these dangers from the public” while the utility’s coal-burning plants made the problem worse.
The lawsuit says that, because of climate change, Carrboro was forced to spend more repairing roads, due to damage from increased heat and storm events; on stormwater infrastructure; on cooling public buildings; and on storm damage to city property.
The Local Reporter called Duke Energy’s media office for their response, but at press time they had not returned the call.
Town Manager Patrice Toney said in an interview that there wasn’t a specific recent incident that triggered the lawsuit, but rather the cumulative effects of Duke Energy’s decisions. “The town of Carrboro has been fighting the effects of climate change for many, many years. It’s not a trigger, it was just that the effort the town had been putting in just wasn’t enough.” Rather than invest more money in mitigating climate-change effects, “the town decided they needed to do more and take a more aggressive approach.”
Foushee said things started moving last year when various nonprofits dealing with climate change and environmental issues shared information with the Town Council. Interest in taking action stayed strong despite the changes in council membership since then.
“We just experienced the hottest summer on record,” said Foushee at the press conference. “Heat is the top weather-related cause of death in this country, killing more people than hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods combined.”
Carrboro v. Duke Energy
The lawsuit requests damages “in excess of” $25,000. Matthew D. Quinn, a partner with Lewis & Roberts. told The Local Reporter that figure isn’t an estimate of damages but a matter of procedure: “In North Carolina you can’t put a big number in a complaint.” Instead, $25,000 is the minimum required to file in Superior Court rather than a district or small claims court.
At the press conference, Quinn said he’s seen statements in the media that Carrboro’s damages could add up to more than $60 million. However, he didn’t want to commit to a specific figure this early in the litigation. He said Carrboro can calculate damages based on models comparing the cost of climate change to how much less they’d have spent if Duke had committed to renewable energy “when it could have made a big difference.”
One journalist at the press conference asked why the town was asking for financial relief rather than pushing Duke to switch to renewable energy. Quinn said the suit was focused on the costs to the town and the citizens. “It’s possible that, if Duke Energy sees the damage it’s done, there will be policy changes.”
Carrboro’s claims
The lawsuit includes five claims for relief.
- Public nuisance, a claim Duke “thas substantially and unreasonably interfered with and is detrimental to the rights of the public at large, including the right to use and enjoy property, and the rights to public life, health, safety,emergency management, and safe, unobstructed transportation, among others.”
- A second public nuisance claim says Duke’s actions “substantially interfere” with the town’s use and enjoyment of public property, to the point “a person of ordinary prudence and discretion would consider the said interference excessive or inappropriate.”
- Trespass: “Climate change has caused, and will continue to cause, flood waters, precipitation, wind, extreme temperatures, and other substantial forces to enter and damage Plaintiff’s property.”
- Negligence: “Defendant knew or should have known that these climate-related harms would pose risks to human health and safety, would damage property and infrastructure, and would result in damages to Plaintiff’s resources and services.” The lawsuit charges Duke could have avoided these problems by taking action against climate change.
- Gross negligence: “Defendant intentionally breached its duties of care knowing that the result would cause serious harm to Plaintiff and its property. Defendant acted with conscious or reckless disregard for the rights and safety of Plaintiff.”
“They all boil down to the same allegations about Duke’s campaign of deception,” said Quinn.
What now?
Quinn says that fossil-fuel companies have replied to similar lawsuits by getting them removed to federal court. The federal judges typically remand them back to state court. Carrboro’s lawsuit, for instance, is based on North Carolina tort law so it belongs in state court.
Quinn said he’s confident the town will prevail, whatever Duke does: “The facts support what we’re doing, the law supports it, and justice supports it.”
Fraser Sherman has worked for newspapers, including the Destin Log, the Pensacola News-Journal and the Raleigh Public Record. Born in England, he’d still live in Florida if he hadn’t met the perfect woman and moved to Durham to marry her. He’s the author of several film reference books and has published one novel and several short story collections.
This reporter can be reached at Info@TheLocalReporter.press
When will Carrboro file a lawsuit against Santa for the kids who were disappointed on Christmas morning?
I can vouch for the excellence of Matt Quinn’s lawyering.