HELD V. STATE OF MONTANA
On August 14, in an historic first, Judge Seeley ruled wholly in favor of the 16 youth plaintiffs in Held v. State of Montana, declaring that the state of Montana violated the youth’s constitutional rights, including their rights to equal protection, dignity, liberty, health and safety, and public trust, which are all predicated on their right to a clean and healthful environment. The court invalidated as unconstitutional and enjoined Montana laws that promoted fossil fuels and required turning a blind eye to climate change. The court ruled the youth plaintiffs had proven their standing to bring the case by showing significant injuries, the government’s substantial role in causing them, and that a judgment in their favor would change the government’s conduct.
On September 29, 2023, the state filed its appeal to the Montana Supreme Court, followed by a request to stay the ruling on October 16, 2023, which Judge Seeley denied on November 21, 2023. On December 1, 2023, the state filed another motion to stay with the Montana Supreme Court, which was also denied in January 2024. Then on March 13, 2024, the youth plaintiffs filed an answer brief in response to the State’s appeal to the Montana Supreme Court. Following that brief between March 13 and April 4, 2024, scores of organizations and individuals filed 11 amicus briefs in support of the youth plaintiffs. The youth plaintiffs now await a reply brief from the state due by April 26, 2024, and a date for oral arguments from the Montana Supreme Court.
Current Status
Our Children’s Trust has represented young people in Montana legal actions since 2011, most recently in the youth-led constitutional climate lawsuit, Held v. State of Montana.
On March 13, 2020, 16 young people from across the state of Montana filed their constitutional climate lawsuit against the state of Montana, asserting that, by supporting a fossil fuel-driven energy system, which is contributing to the climate crisis, Montana is violating their constitutional rights to a clean and healthful environment; to seek safety, health, and happiness; and to individual dignity and equal protection of the law. The youth plaintiffs also argue that the state’s fossil fuel energy system is degrading and depleting Montana’s constitutionally protected public trust resources, including the atmosphere, rivers and lakes, and fish and wildlife.
The youth plaintiffs are represented by Nate Bellinger, Philip Gregory, Julia Olson, Andrea Rodgers, and David Schwartz with Our Children’s Trust; Melissa Hornbein and Barbara Chillcott with Western Environmental Law Center; and Roger Sullivan with McGarvey Law.
major moments timeline
The following is a timeline of major moments, filings, and rulings in Held v. State of Montana, from 2020 to today: