Law firms could reap a massive windfall from climate lawsuits that have been filed in numerous Democrat-leaning jurisdictions across the U.S., a Daily Caller News Foundation review of legal contracts found. [emphasis, links added]
Several state and municipal prosecutors across the country have signed agreements with private law firms to help with lawsuits against major energy corporations.
These contracts, known as contingency-fee agreements, reward law firms with a percentage of the payout if the parties settle—but do not require substantial up-front payments from local governments.
These agreements create incentives for activist law firms and often Democrat prosecutors to collaborate on litigation against American energy companies in pursuit of hefty settlements.
Prospective settlements could vary in size, ranging from tens of millions of dollars to billions depending on how the cases play out, according to E&E News.
While the specifics of the cases vary, the lawsuits generally argue that major energy companies are liable for misleading the public about the environmental damage their products allegedly cause.
For example, Sher Edling’s agreement with Minnesota, led by Democratic Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, stipulates that the firm will make 16.67% of the first $150 million recovered and 7.5% of any additional recovery in the state’s climate lawsuit against energy interests like ExxonMobil and the American Petroleum Institute.
Notably, Sher Edling employees have given tens of thousands of dollars to Democratic candidates dating back to 2016, according to Federal Election Commission data.
Sher Edling and Ellison did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
Sher Edling, along with another law firm by the name of Tycko and Zavareei, also contracted to assist with a climate lawsuit in Washington, D.C. That particular agreement caps the firms’ payouts in the event of a settlement at a cumulative $70 million.
Tycko and Zavareei did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
Critics say these lawsuits are based on questionable legal theories and are an attempt by special interests to enact anti-fossil fuel policies via the legal system.
None of the lawsuits so far have been successful.
“Radical climate activists are bankrolling law firms like Sher Edling to try and bankrupt America’s energy producers and engage in shadow policymaking to ban fossil fuels,” a spokesperson for Republican Texas Sen. Cruz and the Senate Commerce Committee told the DCNF. “Obviously, these law firms do not take any financial risk in bringing these ludicrous lawsuits.”
“On top of that, the money these activist lawyers could earn from destroying American energy companies—which must use their shareholders’ money to defend themselves against these lawsuits—shows that this effort is part of the radical left’s ‘lawfare’ strategy to abuse the legal system and accomplish policy goals that everyday Americans do not want, while lining plaintiff attorneys’ pockets,” the Cruz spokesperson added. …snip…
While Ellison has not disclosed a specific amount that he and his team are looking to win from the oil corporations, he indicated in 2020 that a potential settlement could be comparable to the $7 billion agreement that the state reached with major tobacco companies in the 1990s, according to The Associated Press. …
The implications of these lawsuits could extend beyond large payouts for lawyers.
A growing list of legal experts and former senior military officials have requested that the Supreme Court pick up a climate lawsuit in Hawaii because the litigation poses such major questions about federalism and national security that the highest court in the land should take over.
The city of Honolulu is suing energy corporations, including Chevron and Shell, in that climate lawsuit, according to Reuters.
A similar climate case against major oil corporations in San Francisco could be even more lucrative for Sher Edling and Altshuler Berzon, the other firm involved in the contingency fee structure for the case.
The plaintiffs are seeking a settlement that could potentially reach into the billions from five major energy companies, according to the San Francisco City Attorney’s office.
Top photo by Krzysztof Hepner on Unsplash
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The Law Firms Blue Democrat run Cities looking to rake in il gotten grains the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ and the Kah Ching Kah Ching Kah Ching where are those People over Profit Nit-Wits are Now?
This is not one lawyer or law firm on this planet that has contributed the same benefits to mankind as th major oil companies. And if there is anyone who doesn’t understand this, go back to school. SORRY – you won’t find anything there so it might be easier to try to buy something that a petroluem product has not been needed to make it. THEN you will learn how important and valuable petroleum products are to all of our lives.
Good luck with your search.
It is pretty straight forward to prove carbon dioxide is not a factor in warming. Carbon dioxide is beyond its saturation point as far as being able to cause warming. There is very poor correlation between CO2 levels and warming. Beyond that, there is strong evidence that increased levels so CO2 have been beneficial. The main reason energy companies haven’t taken the obvious defense is that their executives buy into the climate change fraud.