Overview
- King County Superior Court Judge Matthew Lapin on Wednesday denied oil companies’ joint motions to dismiss and cleared the case to proceed to discovery in state court.
- Plaintiff Misti Leon says her mother, Julie Leon, died of hyperthermia during the June 2021 Pacific Northwest heat dome and alleges fossil fuel companies helped cause the deadly event.
- The court removed ConocoPhillips and Olympic Pipeline Company as defendants and gave Ms. Leon leave to amend her complaint to adjust claims or parties.
- Lapin explained the claims are not federally preempted because the suit seeks monetary damages for a single death rather than seeking to regulate emissions.
- The case joins a growing wave of state and local climate suits against major oil firms and comes as industry groups lobby for liability shields and the U.S. Supreme Court weighs related municipal climate cases.