In 2023, I wrote about a climate case out of Oregon in which Multnomah County sued various fossil fuel companies, gas utilities, and consulting firm McKinsey & Company. That case alleges the Defendants knew the impacts of burning fossil fuels and continued to misrepresent the risks to the public. Now the case has finally moved beyond the motion to dismiss phase. The court is allowing the litigation to continue. A press release from Multnomah County states:
“Focusing on the complaint’s actual language, the Court explained that ‘the County’s claims rely on a theory of causation that involves interstate (and/or international) greenhouse gas emissions, [but] the conduct from which the County’s claims allegedly arise is that of defendants’ alleged misrepresentations and/or failures to disclose/warn,’ and that ‘[i]t is that conduct which forms the gravamen of the County’s claims.'”
This case is interesting because of how the claims are structured. Rather than suing for damages resulting from climate change, the County’s claims rest on the industry’s deception. This creates a case that could potentially survive an adverse ruling in Suncor, the Supreme Court’s pending climate tort case. This theory could provide plaintiffs with an alternative if other types of climate tort cases are struck down.
Our members can learn more about climate litigation here.
