US Court: Exxon, Chevron, Shell Must Face Part Of Lawsuit In Puerto Rico For False Climate Change Claims
US Court: Exxon, Chevron, Shell Must Face Part Of Lawsuit In Puerto Rico For False Climate Change Claims
Seeks damages for the destruction caused by hurricanes Irma and Maria
The US District Court for the District of Puerto Rico has ruled that Exxon, Chevron, Shell and other oil companies must face part of a lawsuit in Puerto Rico for allegedly misleading the public about climate change and conspiring to suppress clean energy alternatives.
The 2017 lawsuit, sought damages for the destruction caused by hurricanes Irma and Maria.
The preliminary ruling by Magistrate Judge Hector Ramos-Vega in San Juan said that a group of Puerto Rican towns provided enough information on how to pursue antitrust and racketeering claims against the oil companies.
Judge Ramos-Vega recommended dismissing consumer deception, fraud and other state claims from the lawsuit.
However, a federal district court judge will consider whether to adopt all or part of the ruling.
In the 2022 lawsuit, the municipalities alleged that the oil companies formed a coalition to fund a marketing campaign to deny climate change. They worked in unison to undermine alternative energy sources.
Meanwhile, lawyer Marc Grossman of Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman, representing 37 Puerto Rican municipal plaintiffs, stated that the court’s decision was a ‘major victory for climate accountability’ that sets the lawsuit on track for a trial.
The oil companies have denied any wrongdoing and sought the dismissal of the lawsuit. They complained that it was "premised on the notion that the defendants may be held liable for all carbon emissions, everywhere and at any time."
Several US state and local municipalities have sued oil companies seeking monetary damages for their role in contributing to climate change.
Recently, the Supreme Court declined a bid from major oil companies to stop a lawsuit by Honolulu, accusing them of misleading the public about climate change impacts.
