June 25, 2026: Plaintiffs File Initial Appeal Brief

Attorneys for the youth plaintiffs filed their initial brief with Florida’s First District Court of Appeal, asking the court to reverse the dismissal of their case and allow their constitutional claims to move forward. They argue that Florida courts have a duty to determine whether the Public Service Commission’s longstanding approval of fossil fuel-dependent electricity plans violates their fundamental rights to life under the Florida Constitution.  

The brief states, “Nothing in the text, history, or principles of Florida’s Constitution or Florida jurisprudence allows a State court to decline to hear and decide a fundamental rights case 

asserting violations of enumerated Article I rights concerning specific conduct of a single administrative agency implementing a single state statute, and which seeks only declaratory relief. In dismissing Appellants’ case with prejudice, the Circuit Court made three reversible errors.”