CA Cities, Counties Can Sue Oil Companies: Report

CALIFORNIA — Golden State cities and counties now have the ability to sue major oil companies for contributing to rising climates or any deception related to the sale of fossil fuels, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Plaintiffs in swaths of California counties filed suits in 2017 to seek damages from dozens of companies that reportedly contribute to climate change and sea level rise, forcing communities to build sea walls and enact other protections, the newspaper reported.

Such suits argue that the oil companies' "wrongful conduct in producing, selling, marketing fossil fuels contributes to global warming and sea-level rise, which led to property damage and other injuries," Judge Sandra Ikuta said the Tuesday 3-0 ruling.

"It is time to go to trial to hold these defendants accountable for deceiving consumers about the damages associated with the use of their products, and to protect our taxpayers from having to bear the enormous costs resulting from that deception," according to a statement from Marin and Santa Cruz counties and also the cities of Santa Cruz and Imperial Beach, the newspaper reported.

Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle: California cities and counties can sue oil companies in state court, federal appeals court rules