Cases against corporations
California
The Golden State has been the epicenter of climate liability lawsuits brought by local governments against major fossil fuel companies, with eight communities taking legal action so far. A commercial crab fishing trade association representing West Coast fishermen has also sued the fossil fuel industry.
County of San Mateo et al. v. Chevron Corp. et al.
Current Status: Cases paused while defendants seek intervention from U.S. Supreme Court
Background: Three lawsuits jointly filed in July 2017 by Marin and San Mateo counties and the city of Imperial Beach, all coastal communities that are highly vulnerable to coastal erosion/flooding and sea level rise. The suits target 37 fossil fuel companies with nuisance and product liability claims and seek monetary damages to help pay for costs associated with climate adaptation, estimated at billions of dollars. The communities filed their lawsuits in California state court (Contra Costa County Superior Court), and the defendants moved the suits to federal court (U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California).
A battle has played out over federal vs. state court jurisdiction. The plaintiffs filed a motion to remand their suits back to state court. In March 2018, District Judge Vince Chhabria granted the remand, ordering the cases belong in state court. The defendants appealed that decision. Following a hearing in February 2020, a three-judge panel on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on May 26 in favor of the plaintiffs, upholding Chhabria’s decision. The panel denied defendants' request for a rehearing, but subsequently granted a stay or pause on the remand order while defendants prepare to file a petition with the Supreme Court.
More info on these cases:
http://climatecasechart.com/case/county-san-mateo-v-chevron-corp/
County of Santa Cruz et al. v. Chevron Corp. et al.
Current Status: Consolidated with San Mateo cases; cases on hold, but close to proceeding in California state court
Background: The city and county of Santa Cruz filed suit against 29 fossil fuel companies in December 2017, and a month later the city of Richmond joined with its own suit against the same companies. The communities filed the suits in California Superior Court, and defendants moved them to federal court. The District Court for the Northern District of California granted remand of the suits in July 2018, and defendants promptly appealed. The Ninth Circuit consolidated these cases with the San Mateo cases in considering the appeal. The three-judge panel ruled on May 26 to send the cases by the six California communities back to state court.
More info on these cases:
http://climatecasechart.com/case/county-santa-cruz-v-chevron-corp/
http://www.cityofsantacruz.com/Home/Components/News/News/7718/36
City of Oakland, City of San Francisco, v. BP et al.
Current Status: Ninth Circuit ordered cases sent back to District Court for reconsideration
Background: Oakland and San Francisco each filed a lawsuit in September 2017 against five of the “Big Oil” companies – BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, and Shell. The cities filed in state court and alleged a narrower claim of public nuisance. The oil companies moved the suits to federal court. The cities moved to remand back to state court, but on February 27, 2018 District Judge William Alsup denied that remand motion. He also ordered a climate science tutorial, which took place in March 2018. In June 2018 Alsup granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss, deciding that courts cannot “solve” the problem of climate change and agreeing with defendants’ argument that the claims arise under federal common law, which is displaced by the Clean Air Act. The cities appealed this decision. The Ninth Circuit held oral arguments in February 2020, with the same three-judge panel that heard the San Mateo/Santa Cruz cases also presiding on this appeal. That panel issued a decision on May 26 along with its decision in the San Mateo cases. The panel ruled in favor of Oakland/San Francisco that the cases do not raise issues of federal law and should proceed in state court. The oil companies petitioned for a rehearing in this case on July 9, 2020, arguing that the Ninth Circuit panel "overlooked or misapprehended several key issues" including rejecting federal common law as an independent ground for federal jurisdiction. In other words, the companies want the Ninth Circuit to uphold Judge Alsup's ruling that the case arises under federal common law - and therefore must be dismissed under Supreme Court precedent in a previous climate lawsuit brought by states against power plants (AEP v. Connecticut), which held that federal common law is displaced by the Clean Air Act in global warming nuisance cases. The Ninth Circuit panel denied the request for rehearing on August 12, 2020.
More info on this case:
http://climatecasechart.com/case/people-state-california-v-bp-plc-oakland/
Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Association, Inc. v. Chevron Corp.
Current Status: Case was stayed pending Ninth Circuit ruling in San Francisco/San Mateo cases; case should now be able to proceed
Background: Lawsuit filed in November 2018 by a commercial fishing trade association against 30 fossil fuel companies. Complaint filed in California Superior Court and includes nuisance and product liability claims. The fishing association details in its complaint the economic damage from the collapse of Dungeness crab stocks due to warming oceans and associated algal blooms that poison the crab. It is the first climate-related lawsuit filed by an industry against the fossil fuel industry.
The defendants moved the suit to federal court. The case had been stayed, or paused, to allow for similar climate tort cases in California to be resolved on the jurisdiction issue.
More info on this case:
http://climatecasechart.com/case/pacific-coast-federation-of-fishermens-associations-inc-v-chevron-corp/
Drilled podcast, Season 2: Hot Water https://www.criticalfrequency.org/drilled
Colorado
Board of County Commissioners of Boulder County et al. v. Suncor et al.
Current Status: Case proceeding in Colorado state court.
Background: Three Colorado communities – the city and county of Boulder along with the county of San Miguel – filed a lawsuit in April 2018 against ExxonMobil and Suncor (plus Suncor affiliates) seeking damages to help pay for climate-related costs. The complaint alleges claims of nuisance, trespass, and unjust enrichment, as well as a claim of deceptive trade practices under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act. It was the first climate lawsuit filed by inland (non-coastal) communities against fossil fuel producers.
The parties have battled over jurisdiction. Plaintiffs filed in state court, and defendants moved the case to federal court. In September 2019 District Judge William Martinez ruled in favor of plaintiffs to remand the case back to state court. Defendants appealed to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. While the case was under appeal, Martinez refused to stay proceedings, allowing the case to simultaneously proceed in state court. The Tenth Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court also refused to stay the case. The Tenth Circuit held a hearing (by telephone) on May 6, and a decision on the defendants’ appeal was issued on July 7, upholding District Judge Martinez's decision to remand the case to state court. Defendants have also filed a motion to dismiss in state court. The plaintiffs filed a brief opposing that motion earlier this year (2020). The Boulder County District Court (state court) held a hearing on motions to dismiss on June 1, and a decision is pending.
More info on this case:
http://climatecasechart.com/case/board-of-county-commissioners-of-boulder-county-v-suncor-energy-usa-inc/
https://earthrights.org/case/climate-change-litigation-colorado/
Connecticut
State of Connecticut v. ExxonMobil Corp.
Current Status: Complaint filed on September 14, 2020
Background: The state of Connecticut filed a lawsuit against oil major ExxonMobil to hold the company accountable for its alleged deception on climate change, including historical campaigns to undermine climate science and downplay the risks of burning fossil fuels as well as ongoing "greenwashing" campaigns that mislead the public about the company's role as a leader in solving climate change while Exxon remains substantially committed to its core fossil fuel business. The Attorney General of Connecticut, William Tong, filed the lawsuit on Sept. 14, 2020 in Connecticut state court accusing Exxon of violating the state's anti-fraud law, the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act. Connecticut is seeking to compel Exxon to stop its deceptive acts, disgorge profits gained through its decades of deception and pay civil penalties, disclose all research the company or its affiliates have conducted on climate, and fund a “corrective education campaign to remedy the harm inflicted by decades of disinformation.”
More info on this case:
https://portal.ct.gov/AG/Press-Releases/2020-Press-Releases/CONNECTICUT-SUES-EXXON-FOR-DECADES-OF-DECEIT-REGARDING-CLIMATE-CHANGE
http://climatecasechart.com/case/state-v-exxon-mobil-corp/
Delaware
State of Delaware v. BP America Inc. et al.
Current Status: Complaint filed September 10, 2020
Background: Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings filed a climate accountability case against 30 major fossil fuel companies (29 oil and gas firms and one coal company) plus the main trade association for the U.S. oil and gas industry - the American Petroleum Institute (API). AG Jennings filed the lawsuit on September 10, 2020 in Delaware Superior Court. The lawsuit includes legal claims of public nuisance, trespass, negligent failure to warn, and violations of the state’s Consumer Fraud Act, and seeks monetary damages to help pay for climate-related costs the state is incurring as climate impacts worsen. The state alleges these impacts and costs have been magnified by "defendants’ decades-long campaign of deception."
More info on this case:
https://news.delaware.gov/2020/09/10/ag-jennings-announces-suit-to-hold-exxon-american-petroleum-institute-29-others-accountable-for-climate-change-costs/
http://climatecasechart.com/case/state-v-bp-america-inc/
District of Columbia
District of Columbia v. ExxonMobil Corp. et al.
Current Status: Complaint filed in June 2020
Background: Washington DC filed a lawsuit on June 25, 2020 - just one day after Minnesota filed a similar suit - for alleged climate deception in violation of the DC Consumer Protection Procedures Act. Defendants are the four largest investor-owned oil and gas companies - BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, and Shell. The lawsuit documents how these Big Oil companies engineered and funded campaigns to undermine climate science and downplay the consequences of burning their fossil fuel products, and how the communications strategies have shifted towards "greenwashing" and misleading messaging about the companies' commitments to solving climate change. The lawsuit seeks an order mandating an end to the companies' disinformation on climate and also seeks civil penalties. The case was filed in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
Defendants moved the case to federal court, and on Aug. 17, 2020 the District of Columbia filed a motion to remand to state court.
More info on this case:
http://climatecasechart.com/case/district-of-columbia-v-exxon-mobil-corp/
Hawaii
City and County of Honolulu v. Sunoco et al.
Current Status: Case stayed pending Ninth Circuit decision in California cases; case should now be proceeding
Background: Honolulu filed a lawsuit in March 2020 against major oil companies seeking to hold them liable for climate impacts and associated costs in Hawaii’s capital city. As an island community, Honolulu is especially vulnerable to sea level and flooding as well as beach erosion and tropical storms. The state of Hawaii has estimated the cost of elevating roads at up to $15 billion, and on the island of Oahu nearly $13 billion worth of property is at risk from sea level rise.
In April the defendants moved case to federal court (US District Court for the District of Hawaii), Case # CV 20-00163. Case assigned to Judge Derrick Watson. On May 1, Judge Watson stayed the case pending resolution of the Oakland/San Francisco and San Mateo appeals. According to Watson’s order, “No later than fourteen (14) days after the Ninth Circuit issues a decision in both San Mateo and Oakland, the parties are directed to submit a plan--jointly, if possible, and separately, if not--that addresses the various scheduling and other issues contemplated by Fed.R.Civ.P. 16 and related local rules.” Judge Watson ordered the stay lifted on August 21, 2020, allowing the case to proceed to the battle over state vs. federal court jurisdiction.
More info on this case:
http://climatecasechart.com/case/city-county-of-honolulu-v-sunoco-lp/
https://www.resilientoahu.org/accountability
* Note – Maui County announced in late October 2019 that it intended to sue fossil fuel companies, pending approval of the Maui County Council. The Council unanimously approved bringing litigation in February 2020. An official lawsuit is expected soon.
Maryland
Mayor and City Council of Baltimore v. BP et al.
Current Status: Defendants filed petition for Supreme Court review; case is simultaneously proceeding in Maryland state court, though is temporarily stayed
Background: Lawsuit filed in July 2018 by the city of Baltimore against 26 fossil fuel companies, seeking damages to help pay for climate-related costs in the city. Baltimore filed in Maryland state court and brought nuisance and product liability claims as well as a claim under Maryland’s Consumer Protection Act.
Defendants moved the case to federal court, and the city filed a motion to remand. In June 2019 District Judge Ellen Hollander granted remand. Defendants appealed, and both Judge Hollander and the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals refused to stay the remand order, allowing the case to proceed in state court while the defendants sought an appeal of the remand decision. The Supreme Court also refused to stay the case. The Fourth Circuit heard oral arguments on the appeal in December 2019. On March 6, 2020 the Fourth Circuit ruled in favor of Baltimore, upholding the District Court’s remand order. The defendants filed a petition (seeking another appeal) to the U.S. Supreme Court. Meanwhile, in state court, defendants filed a motion to dismiss earlier this year, and in April Baltimore filed its opposition to the motion to dismiss. On August 6, 2020 Judge Brown of the Maryland Circuit Court granted defendants' motion to defer (delay) hearings on a motion for a protective order and a motion to dismiss. Hearings are deferred pending the Supreme Court's decision on the defendants' petition.
More info on this case:
http://climatecasechart.com/case/mayor-city-council-of-baltimore-v-bp-plc/
Massachusetts
Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. ExxonMobil Corp.
Current Status: Case proceeding in state court
Background: On Oct. 24, 2019 Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey filed a lawsuit alleging ExxonMobil misled Massachusetts consumers and investors regarding disclosing climate risk to the company’s business and deceptively advertising its products. The lawsuit followed a 3.5-year investigation, which Exxon was unsuccessful in stopping. The suit, filed in Suffolk Superior Court, alleges Exxon violated the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act. The Commonwealth is seeking injunctive relief as well as civil penalties.
Exxon moved the case to federal court, and the Commonwealth filed a motion to remand to state court. The federal district court held a hearing (via telephone) in March 2020 and ruled to remand the case back to state court. Exxon has since filed two motions to dismiss the case, including an attempt to squash the case under the state's so-called anti-Slapp law, Bloomberg reported.
More info on this case:
http://climatecasechart.com/case/commonwealth-v-exxon-mobil-corp/
https://www.mass.gov/lists/attorney-generals-office-lawsuit-against-exxonmobil
Minnesota
State of Minnesota v. American Petroleum Institute et al.
Current Status: Complaint filed in June 2020
Background: Minnesota filed a climate lawsuit under the state's consumer protection laws on June 24, 2020 in Minnesota District Court for the County of Ramsey (a Minnesota state court). The lawsuit targets several defendants, including ExxonMobil, the American Petroleum Institute, Koch Industries, and two Koch subsidiaries - Flint Hills Resources LP and Flint Hills Resources Pine Bend. Similar to the Washington DC case and the Massachusetts case, the Minnesota case focuses on alleged fraud and alleges the defendants misled consumers regarding the risks of climate change and the dangers of fossil fuel products. Minnesota's lawsuit includes claims for fraud, failure to warn, and multiple separate violations of Minnesota statutes that prohibit consumer fraud, deceptive trade practices, and false statements in advertising. The relief sought includes maximum civil penalties, disgorgement of profits, an order for defendants to stop their alleged misleading advertising and communications and also for them to fund a public education campaign in the state on the subject of climate change.
Defendants moved the case to federal court in late July, and on August 26, 2020 Minnesota filed a motion to remand to state court.
More info on this case:
http://climatecasechart.com/case/state-v-american-petroleum-institute/
New Jersey
City of Hoboken v. ExxonMobil et al.
Current Status: Complaint filed September 2, 2020
Background: The city of Hoboken, New Jersey, located on the banks of the Hudson River across from New York City, filed a climate lawsuit targeting major oil and gas companies and the American Petroleum Institute for alleged deception on the climate impacts stemming from the burning of fossil fuels. Hoboken's suit alleges that the oil and gas companies and their lobbying group not only knew early on about the climate harms resulting from their products, but actively engaged in campaigns of deception to undermine climate science and avoid policy responses. Defendants named in the lawsuit include BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Shell, and Phillips 66 along with API. Hoboken filed its case on September 2, 2020 in Hudson County Superior Court, a New Jersey state court. The lawsuit includes legal claims of public and private nuisance, trespass, negligence, and violation of New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act, and it seeks to recover costs associated with climate impacts like extreme flooding and sea level rise.
More info on this case:
http://climatecasechart.com/case/city-of-hoboken-v-exxon-mobil-corp/
New York
City of New York v. BP et al.
Current Status: Pending before Second Circuit Court of Appeals
Background: New York City filed a lawsuit against the five largest oil companies (same five defendants in Oakland/San Francisco suits) in January 2018 over climate impacts and associated costs to the city. The lawsuit alleged claims of nuisance and trespass and demanded monetary damages as relief. The city originally filed the case in federal court. District Judge John Keenan decided in favor of defendants and dismissed the case in July 2018. The city appealed this ruling, and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals held a hearing in November 2019.
More info on this case:
http://climatecasechart.com/case/city-new-york-v-bp-plc/
Rhode Island
Rhode Island v. Chevron Corp. et al.
Current Status: Appeal pending before First Circuit; case is proceeding in state court, though it is temporarily stayed
Background: Rhode Island became the first state to take legal action against fossil fuel companies with a climate lawsuit filed on July 2, 2018 in Rhode Island Superior Court. The lawsuit charges 21 fossil fuel companies with claims of nuisance, failure to warn, design defect, trespass, impairment of public trust resources, and violations of the State Environmental Rights Act. Rhode Island seeks compensatory damages, equitable relief (including abatement of nuisances), and punitive damages to make the companies pay for climate-related costs facing the state.
Defendants moved the case to federal court. Following a hearing in February 2019, District Judge William Smith ruled in July 2019 to remand the case back to state court. Defendants appealed to the First Circuit Court of Appeals. The District Court and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to stay the case pending this appeal, which allows the case to simultaneously proceed in Rhode Island state court. Defendants filed motions to dismiss in state court in January 2020. In August 2020 the state court stayed the case pending resolution of personal jurisdiction issues in unrelated cases, as defendants make the argument the case should be dismissed for lack of personal jurisdiction. Meanwhile, the First Circuit Court of Appeals is considering whether to uphold the federal district court decision remanding the case back to state court. The First Circuit held a hearing on this matter on Sept. 11, 2020.
More info on this case:
http://climatecasechart.com/case/rhode-island-v-chevron-corp/
South Carolina
City of Charleston v. Brabham Oil Company et al.
Current Status: Complaint filed September 9, 2020
Background: Charleston, South Carolina became the first city in the American South to go to court against the oil and gas industry over climate change with a lawsuit filed September 9, 2020 in South Carolina state court. The lawsuit targets 24 petroleum companies including oil majors such as BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Phillips 66, ExxonMobil, Marathon Petroleum, and Shell Oil. The lawsuit is brought under legal claims of public and private nuisance, strict liability and negligent failure to warn, trespass, and violations of South Carolina’s Unfair Trade Practices Act, and it seeks monetary damages to help pay for costs associated with climate impacts such as extreme heat, damaging flooding, severe storms and sea level rise.
More info on this case:
http://climatecasechart.com/case/city-of-charleston-v-brabham-oil-co/
Washington
King County v. BP et al.
Current Status: Case had been stayed pending Ninth Circuit ruling on Oakland/San Francisco appeal
Background: Washington’s King County, which includes the city of Seattle, filed a lawsuit against five major oil companies (same defendants in Oakland/San Francisco suits) in May 2018, alleging public nuisance and trespass for climate-related damages and impacts incurred by the county. The county demanded an order requiring the companies fund a climate change adaptation program for the county, as well as requiring them to pay for costs the county has already incurred relating to climate change.
King County filed its case in Washington Superior Court, and defendants moved it to federal court (U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington). Following an amended complaint filed by the county, defendants filed motions to dismiss on August 31, 2018. In September 2018, King County filed a motion to stay its case pending the outcome of the appeal by Oakland and San Francisco. The federal district court granted the stay in October 2018.
More info on this case:
http://climatecasechart.com/case/king-county-v-bp-plc/
Lliuya v. RWE
Current Status: Case accepted by appeals court and is proceeding through lengthy evidentiary phase
Background: Case filed in 2015 by Peruvian farmer Saúl Luciano Lliuya against German energy company RWE seeking compensation for climate-related flooding in Lliuya’s hometown of Huaraz, Peru. The flooding of a glacial lake in Huaraz is a result of melting mountain glaciers, melting that has accelerated due to global warming and the buildup of greenhouse gas emissions, a small percentage of which can be traced back to RWE. The energy company is Germany’s largest supplier of electricity and one of Europe’s largest historical emitters. Lliuya is asking the court to order RWE to reimburse him for a portion of the costs he and the Huaraz authorities had incurred to establish flood protections.
The District Court dismissed the case in December 2016. Lliuya appealed, and on November 30, 2017 the appeals court decided the case was admissible and ordered it to proceed into the evidentiary phase. According to the NGO Germanwatch, which is supporting the plaintiff, “the Higher Regional Court of Hamm [appeals court] has made a request to the State of Peru to be allowed to inspect the premises that are the subject of the lawsuit. The Court is at present awaiting response from the competent authorities, which can take quite some time to process.”
More info on this case:
http://climatecasechart.com/non-us-case/lliuya-v-rwe-ag/
https://germanwatch.org/en/huaraz
Notre Affaire à Tous et al. v. Total
Current Status: Complaint filed in January 2020, case is pending
Background: French environmental NGOs Notre Affaire à Tous, Sherpa, Zea, and Les Eco Maires plus more than a dozen local French governments have taken legal action against Total, France’s largest oil and gas company, for failing to align its business activities with emissions reductions consistent with the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C. Plaintiffs assert that Total’s failure to mitigate climate risks arising from its business violates the French duty of vigilance law. That law requires companies to identify and implement plans to mitigate harms to human rights, fundamental freedoms, the environment and public health. Plaintiffs sent a letter to Total in June 2019 indicating intention to sue unless Total revised its vigilance plan to be in compliance with the law and goals of the Paris Agreement to limit warming to well below 2°C. The lawsuit was filed January 28, 2020 in Nanterre, France. If allowed to proceed, it would be the first French climate lawsuit against a fossil fuel company.
More info on this case:
http://climatecasechart.com/non-us-case/notre-affaire-a-tous-and-others-v-total/
Milieudefensie et al. v. Royal Dutch Shell
Current Status: Case proceeding, hearings set for December 2020
Background: Case building on the historic Urgenda climate case holding the Dutch government accountable. This case targets Shell, a Dutch oil giant and one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in the world. Plaintiffs are Dutch environmental groups along with over 17000 Dutch citizens. The lawsuit alleges Shell’s business activities are incompatible with the Paris Agreement and violate human rights protected under Netherlands and European law. Plaintiffs request a court order for Shell to reduce its carbon emissions to zero by 2050 in alignment with Paris Agreement goals.
The case was filed in the Hague Court of Appeals on April 5, 2019. According to an update from Friends of the Earth International, the Dutch court has announced four public sessions in December 2020. Hearings will take place on December 1, 3, 15, and 17.
More info on this case:
http://climatecasechart.com/non-us-case/milieudefensie-et-al-v-royal-dutch-shell-plc/
https://www.foei.org/press_releases/shell-climate-case-public-showdown
