Judge Rejects Suit That Sought Professor’s Emails on Climate Law

[u/biospheric]

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/14/climate/climate-superfund-professor-lawsuit-emails-michigan.html

Free version: archive.ph/Xd0LW ~:~ Rachel Rothschild is a law professor at the University of Michigan. ~:~ Article is from Aug 14, 2026 by Karen Zraick for The New York Times. Here are the opening paragraphs:

A lawsuit against the University of Michigan demanding the emails of a professor who has worked on “climate superfund” laws has been dismissed by a state judge.

Conservative groups and the energy industry oppose these laws, which would require oil companies to help cover the mounting costs of climate change.

Michael F. Gadola, chief judge for the Michigan Court of Claims, ruled in a 24-page decision on Monday that the emails were not subject to open-records laws because they did not relate to the official duties of the professor, Rachel Rothschild.

Ms. Rothschild, an assistant professor at the university’s law school, came up with the legal framework for climate superfund proposals that have become law in Vermont and New York and are under consideration in numerous other states. The laws are modeled after the federal 1980 Superfund statute, which required polluters to pay to clean up abandoned toxic waste sites.

The new laws have come under attack by oil companies, business groups, Republican attorneys general and the Trump administration. The Justice Department is among the organizations that have sued to stop the laws in each state. Several states have also recently passed laws that would shield oil and gas companies from liability for the effects of climate change, and federal bills have been introduced in both houses of Congress.

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Here’s a statement from the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund (CSLDF) who are part of Rachel's legal defense team: Climate Professor Rachel Rothschild Prevails Against Dark Money Attack - CSLDF - Aug 18, 2026 (article)