October 2022
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin filed a state lawsuit seeking to hold five major oil and gas companies — ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, BP, and ConocoPhillips — and the American Petroleum Institute accountable for the damage that their climate deception is causing to communities across the state.
New Jersey is seeking a jury trial in state court to recover a range of costs for damages to natural resources, critical infrastructure, and more. It’s also asking the court to order the Big Oil defendants to stop their deceptive practices and disgorge all profits made through their illegal behavior.
The lawsuit cites violations of the state’s consumer protection laws, in addition to common law claims including negligence, trespass, and failure to warn, citing the companies’ early scientific knowledge of climate change and their subsequent campaigns to downplay and obfuscate what they knew.