Last week, a new climate lawsuit seeking to recover for climate change-related damages was filed in the Western District of Washington state. The case targets major fossil fuel companies, including Exxon, Shell, Chevron, and BP, alleging these companies knew about the climate harms of burning fossil fuels and purposefully obfuscated them. We’ve seen Plaintiffs sue for climate-related damages before. We’ve also seen California sue fossil fuels companies over climate disinformation. However, what makes this new case notable is how it measures damages to the Plaintiffs. Instead of limiting their class action to those directly affected by climate-driven natural disasters, Plaintiffs are instead focusing on those affected by rising home insurance premiums. The Complaint states:
“In the state of Washington alone, homeowners rates have increased by a total of 51% over the past six years. But climate change has driven insurance premium increases throughout the country because insurance generally operates by pooling risks. Thus, when climate change increases the frequency and intensity of disasters, insurance companies will spread the costs across the customer pool in the form of higher rates. ‘So even if you haven’t been directly harmed by extreme weather, you’re paying for some of the costs of those climate-worsened disasters.'”
This is clever for several reasons. For one, it significantly expands the potential class of plaintiffs. The case seeks to certify both a national class and a Washington subclass covering practically all homeowners and potential future homeowners. Additionally, climate tort cases often struggle to prove causation – how much more intense climate change makes a natural disaster, and whether the damages would have occurred regardless of the Defendant’s actions. By relying on rising home insurance premiums, Plaintiffs are likely hoping to leverage the insurance industry’s research and pricing mechanisms to prove the financial impacts of climate change. This case is still in its infancy, but it could have major impacts on how Plaintiffs approach climate cases if it proves successful.
Our members can find more information on climate litigation here.
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