Press Releases
April 23, 2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In the latest win for communities fighting to put Big Oil companies on trial for their climate deception, a court this week rejected ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron, and BP’s motions to dismiss the District of Columbia’s consumer protection lawsuit against the companies. The lawsuit, filed by the D.C. Attorney General in 2020, says the companies violated the District’s consumer protection law by engaging in misleading acts and practices around the marketing, promotion, and sale of fossil fuel products.
The ruling from the D.C. Superior Court adds the District to a growing list of communities across the U.S. — including Massachusetts, Vermont, Minnesota, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, and Boulder, Colorado — whose climate deception lawsuits against Big Oil are advancing toward discovery and trial after other courts similarly denied the companies’ motions to dismiss them.
In March, the Wall Street Journal reported that the oil industry is lobbying Congress for legal protections against the cases. Nearly 200 advocacy groups — including the Center for Climate Integrity — have urged Democratic leaders in Congress to oppose those efforts.
Richard Wiles, president of the Center for Climate Integrity, released the following statement:
“Big Oil companies have fueled the climate crisis and deceived the public about it for decades — and now, thanks to the efforts of D.C. and other communities, the fossil fuel industry’s day of legal reckoning is closer than ever. As communities across the U.S. fight to hold these deceitful corporations accountable for the harm they’ve caused, it’s vital that members of Congress reject Big Oil’s attempts to secure legal immunity and protect access to the courts.”
Background on U.S. Climate Accountability Lawsuits Against Big Oil:
Eleven attorneys general — in California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico — and dozens of city, county, and tribal governments in California, Colorado, Hawai`i, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Washington, and Puerto Rico, have filed lawsuits to hold major oil and gas companies accountable for deceiving the public about their products’ role in climate change. These cases collectively represent more than 1 in 4 people living in the United States. Last year the attorney general of Michigan announced plans to take fossil fuel companies to court.