Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher partner Theodore Boutrous Jr. on Friday defended a Manhattan federal judge’s decision to dismiss a lawsuit from the city of New York seeking to hold some of the world’s largest oil and gas producers financially responsible for their contributions to climate change, saying the case raised important concerns about interstate and international regulations.

Boutrous, arguing on behalf of Chevron Corp., BP PLC, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell, told a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, that that the city’s “unprecedented” nuisance and trespass suit was merely an attempt to use New York law to pursue emissions-related claims that were preempted by federal law.