Seven Utahn youth filed their constitutional climate case against the state of Utah.

The State of Utah filed a Motion to Dismiss the case.

Attorneys for the youth plaintiffs filed their response to the motion to dismiss.

Youth plaintiffs and their attorneys appeared before the Honorable Robert Faust at the Third District Courthouse in Salt Lake City to present the youth’s position on why the court should let the case proceed to trial. Judge Faust said he would issue a ruling on the state’s motion to dismiss the case within a few days.

Judge Robert Faust granted the state’s Motion to Dismiss, denying the youth plaintiffs their day in court to present evidence of how the State is harming them in violation of their constitutional rights.

The youth plaintiffs and their attorneys filed a Notice of Appeal in response to the November 9 ruling by Judge Faust.

In a rare move reserved for cases of considerable legal importance, the Utah Supreme Court retained the appeal filed by the seven Utah youth.

As a result, the youth’s appeal will now be decided directly by the Utah Supreme Court, rather than the Utah Court of Appeals, signaling the Court’s recognition of the case’s constitutional significance.

The youth plaintiffs and their attorneys filed their opening brief to the Utah Supreme Court explaining why the youth’s case should proceed to trial on the facts and outlining why the November 9, 2022, ruling from Judge Robert Faust was incorrect.

The youth’s brief also explains how their allegations show that Utah laws that require the state to maximize fossil fuel development are causing the state’s climate and air quality crises, harming the health and safety of the youth and taking years off their lives in violation of their rights to life and liberty under Utah’s Constitution.

Attorneys for the state filed their response to the youth’s opening brief to the Utah Supreme Court, defending the district court’s dismissal of the youth’s claims.

The youth plaintiffs filed their reply brief to the state’s highest court arguing why their case should proceed to trial. They explained that laws promoting fossil fuels are violating their constitutional rights and that every delay in the case adds to the health and safety harms they allege.  

Before a panel of Utah Supreme Court judges, attorney for the youth plaintiffs argued why the case should proceed to trial, asserting that the statutes challenged in this case unconstitutionally mandate the State to promote, foster, and authorize fossil fuel development on a system-wide basis, despite knowledge of its direct impacts to young peoples’ health and safety. This promotion, they argue, is directly responsible for Utah’s deteriorating air quality and increasingly dangerous climate conditions, which the young Utahns are unable to escape. The plaintiffs bring this facial challenge to these policies, claiming they violate their fundamental rights under Utah’s State Constitution. 

The Utah Supreme Court today issued a ruling in the youth-led constitutional climate lawsuit Natalie R. v. State of Utah, which allows the plaintiffs to continue their legal efforts to challenge specific state actions promoting fossil fuel development. The ruling clears the way for the youth to amend their complaint, focusing on how state actions that endanger plaintiffs’ health and safety and contribute to hazardous air quality and climate change violate their constitutional rights to life and liberty. This decision also confirms that Utah’s energy laws do not mandate automatic approval of fossil fuel projects, granting the state full discretion to reject fossil fuel development because of climate change, including coal mining. 

Read the press release here. 

The youth plaintiffs and their attorneys are actively exploring every legal avenue to continue their fight to protect Utah’s youth from the dangers of climate change and ensure the protection of their constitutional right to life, health and safety.