RALEIGH, N.C.— An Orange County Superior Court judge will hear oral arguments Thursday in a lawsuit against Duke Energy for its role in deceiving the public about the dangers of fossil fuels, contributing to millions of dollars in damages to a North Carolina town.

In December the town of Carrboro sued Duke Energy, seeking to hold the for-profit utility accountable for the costs inflicted on the town by the corporation’s campaign to delay the transition from planet-heating fossil fuels to renewable energy.

What: Oral arguments on Duke Energy’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed against it by the town of Carrboro, N.C., to recoup damages caused by the utility’s climate-deception campaign.

When: 10 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025

Where: North Carolina Business Court, Wake County Courthouse, Courtroom 3B, 316 Fayetteville St., Raleigh, N.C., 27601

Who: The town of Carrboro will be represented by attorney Matthew Quinn. Carrboro Mayor Barbara Foushee, Quinn and representatives from conservation groups will be available after the hearing.

The town is spending millions of dollars on road repairs, rising energy bills and other infrastructure costs to adapt to and mitigate harms from human-caused climate change, which has intensified storms and hurricanes pummeling North Carolina, mostly recently Tropical Storm Chantal. The lawsuit says Duke Energy is responsible for these damages because the massive utility knew its campaigns to obstruct climate change legislation and mislead the public would accelerate the climate crisis.

Duke Energy provides electricity to 8.2 million customers across six states, including nearly all of North Carolina as well as parts of South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. The utility is the third largest-polluting corporation in the U.S. and one of the largest electric power providers. Duke Energy emitted roughly 80 million tons of carbon dioxide in 2021.