Oregon County Fights Big Oil Over Fatal Heatwaves

In a rare case of County vs Corporation, county officials in northwestern Oregon have filed suit against some of the world’s biggest fossil fuel companies over a devastating heatwave that killed dozens of residents.

Historic Heatwaves

Historic heatwaves have ravaged northwestern Oregon in recent years. Now, a lawsuit filed by Multnomah County against some of the world’s largest fossil fuel companies is going back to court.

Filing for $1 Billion in Damages

The lawsuit is seeking $1 billion in damages against major companies like Exxon Mobil, Shell, BP, Chevron, and more, for causing the climate crisis that is now driving up temperatures to unbearable degrees in the county. 

2021 Heat Dome

The lawsuit originated in 2021 when rising temperatures caused a deadly heat dome – a phenomenon where the atmosphere creates and contains extreme heat in one place – over the region.

Fatal 3 Days

During 3 days in June 2021, Multnomah County experienced record-high temperatures of 108, 112, and 116 degrees Fahrenheit. The extreme temperatures resulted in 69 deaths from heat stroke in just 3 days. 

Standing It’s Ground

While officials in other counties may have been more willing to attribute the heat domes to randomly occurring extreme weather patterns, Multnomah County officials were not. 

Pointing to the Corporations

Instead, county leaders laid the blame directly at the feet of fossil fuel companies which are responsible for the vast majority of greenhouse gas emissions in the US and around the world. Their blame came in the form of a federal lawsuit in 2023.

Not God, But Corporations

“This catastrophe was not caused by an act of God,” said Jeffrey B. Simon, co-counsel for the county, in a public statement at the time. “but rather by several of the world’s largest energy companies playing God with the lives of innocent and vulnerable people by selling as much oil and gas as they could.”

Back and Forth in Court

Since filing the suit, courts have gone back and forth over whether the case should go forward, and if it should remain in state or federal court. Then last week, a federal judge ruled that it would continue in state court.

Remaining in State Court

Magistrate Judge Youlee You recommended that the case should remain in the Oregon Circuit Court, and United States District Judge Adrienne Nelson upheld the recommendation on Tuesday.

Looking for Legal Advantages

Previously the companies named in the suit had attempted to move the case to federal court where they would have more legal advantages, according to a press release from Multnomah County on Tuesday.

Providing Evidence

Now it is up to the county to show that these companies and their products are directly responsible, or made significant contributions to, the heat dome that killed 69 people.

“A Campaign of Denial and Deception”

County Multnomah has accused these companies of a “campaign of denial and deception” spanning decades, which presented a misleading image of the impact that fossil fuels and fossil fuel products have on the environment. 

A “Rapacious” Scheme

The suit alleged that companies like Exxon and BP devised a “scheme to rapaciously sell fossil fuel products and deceptively promote them as harmless to the environment, while they knew that carbon pollution emitted by their products into the atmosphere would likely cause deadly extreme heat events.” 

“That Day Will Come”

“We look forward to the time when a jury will decide this case and deliver a resounding verdict,” said Simon. “That day will come, we hope soon, and we will be ready for it, no matter how long it takes. Justice demands it.”

In the County’s Favor

The research into region-specific heatwaves looks like it is already on the County’s side, according to Pat Parenteau, professor of law emeritus at Vermont Law and Graduate School.

Scientists Agree

“When it comes to the extreme heat events that affected Portland, the scientists concluded, in looking at that event and then looking at historical records of heat waves in the Pacific Northwest, it would not have happened but for human-caused climate change,” he told reporters.

The First of It’s Kind

The Oregon County lawsuit may be the first of its kind to focus on public health costs due to heat domes, but it is far from the first to sue fossil fuel companies over the impacts of climate change.

Dozens of Related Lawsuits

More than three dozen lawsuits have been filed in the US by states, counties, and cities that wanted to sue oil and gas companies for similar damages related to extreme weather events, flooding, rising sea levels, and more.

Heatwaves Continue

Heatwaves in Multnomah County have continued this year, with county officials extending an ongoing state of emergency last week and reopening three cooling centers.

Seven Deaths This Month

The county has reported seven deaths this month due to multiple days where temperatures climbed to 100 degrees and higher. 

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