San Francisco and Oakland move closer to putting Big Oil on trial

Two of California’s biggest cities are one step closer to putting Big Oil companies on trial for their climate lies after a federal appeals court ruled this week that climate accountability lawsuits from San Francisco and Oakland can move forward in state court, where they were originally filed.

After first filing their lawsuits against ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, Shell, and ConocoPhillips in 2017, Oakland and San Francisco have had a long journey through the judicial system — a journey that has ultimately affirmed again and again that residents deserve their day in court to hold Big Oil accountable. The unanimous ruling was the second time the Ninth Circuit court has rejected the oil industry’s attempts to escape facing evidence of their climate deception in state court in this case, in addition to the circuit court’s similar rulings in cases from other communities in California and Hawaii. In the ruling, the Ninth Circuit panel wrote that “precedent compels us to reject” the industry’s arguments.

This win for Bay Area communities comes just weeks after California filed a statewide lawsuit against oil majors like ExxonMobil, Chevron, and Shell. The state case and San Francisco and Oakland’s cases cite the extensive climate damages taxpayers are now facing — and will continue to face — because of the fossil fuel industry’s deception around the reality of climate change and their product’s integral role in it.

"As we witness climate catastrophes every day,” said Oakland City Attorney Barbara J. Parker following the ruling, “it is imperative that fossil fuel companies be held accountable for the damages their misrepresentations have caused.”