Dive Brief:
- ExxonMobil, Shell, BP and other oil majors lost a bid to squash climate change-related lawsuits initiated by the state of California and eight local governmental entities, according to a ruling issued by the Superior Court of San Francisco County last week.
- Judge Ethan Schulman denied a motion to dismiss the oil producers filed, which sought to have the cases tossed or moved to a federal court based on the California court lacking “specific personal jurisdiction.” However, Schulman found the producers were subject to California jurisdiction because the suits arose from or were related to the defendants’ “extensive contacts with California.”
- The Oct. 8 decision builds on an amended complaint filed by California Attorney General Rob Bonta in June — which seeks to bill Big Oil for its greenwashing practices — and a slew of legal actions from the cities of San Francisco, Oakland, Santa Cruz, Richmond and Imperial Beach and the counties of San Mateo, Marin and Santa Cruz.
Dive Insight:
The oil companies argued that California exercising jurisdiction over the cases would be “unfair and unreasonable,” and that the plaintiffs’ claims did not stem from the companies’ alleged contact with the Golden State. However, the court disagreed with Schulman concluding the state has specific jurisdiction over all claims and California exercising that jurisdiction over the cases would “comport with fair play and substantial justice.”
In his ruling, the judge said the oil producing companies’ “sale and promotion of fossil fuel products in California, their allegedly deceptive statements regarding climate change, and the alleged injuries the Plaintiffs suffered in California” constitute the requisite contact and, hence, the “jurisdictional facts are not in dispute.”
Schulman also said the oil companies had maintained a “substantial presence in California for decades” by processing, storing and moving their products within the state through oil and natural gas refineries, storage and distribution sites and terminals, in addition to employing “thousands of personnel in California.”
The ruling is the latest development in a yearslong fight from dozens of states, cities and municipalities — from Chicago to Honolulu — looking to hold major fossil fuel companies accountable for their role in spurring climate change and related natural disasters.
Earlier this year, Bonta said he aimed to make six corporations — including ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, BP and the American Petroleum Institute — give up “illegally obtained profits” earned through deceptive greenwashing practices.
Bonta’s amended June complaint is part of an ongoing lawsuit initiated in September 2023 which alleged the six corporations participated in a “decades-long campaign of deception” by attempting to mask the connection between climate change and the combustion of fossil fuels, which ultimately contributed to climate-related disasters throughout California.
Schulman’s order did not include Chevron because the state has general jurisdiction over the oil producer as its operations are based in the state. The order does apply to the other oil companies Bonta is targeting as part of the climate lawsuits. Schulman also ruled that trade group API is not named as a defendant in the suit initiated by the local governments.
