RALEIGH, N.C.—The state’s first climate deception case unfurled Thursday in North Carolina Business Court, where attorneys for the town of Carrboro and Duke Energy spent six hours sparring over legal arcana to answer a single question: Should a jury hear a case alleging that Duke Energy is responsible for lying about the link between climate change and extreme weather that has inflicted millions of dollars of property damage on the town?

The case began in December 2024, when Carrboro sued Duke Energy , alleging the utility has funded and promoted a decades-long deception campaign to dismiss the connection between fossil fuels and climate change.

The long-term effects of the alleged deception reinforced the public’s reliance on coal and natural gas, town attorneys argue, which led to incr

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