NATALIE R. V. STATE OF UTAH
On March 20, 2025, the Utah Supreme Court issued a partial win for the youth, allowing them to continue their legal efforts to challenge specific state actions promoting fossil fuel development. The Justices offered the youth plaintiffs a path forward to amend their complaint, address the Court’s concerns, and continue fighting for their rights to life, health, and safety amid the climate crisis.
Acknowledging the vast amounts of fossil fuels extracted in Utah, the Supreme Court ruled that in order for courts to be able to provide plaintiffs with a meaningful remedy, they needed more specificity about the government conduct plaintiffs were challenging.
The youth plaintiffs and their attorneys are now pursuing every available avenue to continue advocating for the protection of Utah’s youth from climate-related harm.
Current Status
On March 15, 2022, seven youth from across the state of Utah filed their constitutional climate lawsuit against the state of Utah, Natalie R. v. State of Utah. The case argues that, through its statutory policy to maximize, promote, and systematically authorize the development of fossil fuels in Utah, the State is actively causing and contributing to Utah’s hazardous air quality and dangerous climate crisis impacts, harming the young plaintiffs and violating their state constitutional rights to life, health, and safety.
The youth plaintiffs claim that their state government has long known of the dangers of fossil fuels yet has continued to take affirmative actions that worsen air pollution and the climate crisis in the Beehive State, resulting in increasingly hazardous air quality and climate impacts that directly harm Utah’s children.
The youth plaintiffs are represented by Andrew Welle with Our Children’s Trust and Andrew Deiss, John Robinson, and Corey Riley with Deiss Law PC.
major moments timeline
The following is a timeline of major moments, filings, and rulings in Natalie R. v. State of Utah, from March 15, 2022 to today: