A wrongful death lawsuit that seeks to hold energy companies responsible for extreme weather events was allowed to proceed recently after a judge in Washington denied the companies’ bids to throw the case out, despite admitting the case faces an uphill battle on the merits. [some emphasis, links added]
The wrongful death case, which argued that the death of a Washington woman during the state’s 2021 heatwave was caused by energy companies, is one of the latest radical legal strategies that Rockefeller-funded groups are pursuing as climate lawsuits are being rejected by judges nationwide.
Judge Remains Skeptical
While the judge ultimately allowed the case to move forward, he did so while raising serious concerns about the lawsuit’s ability to show that actions by the energy companies caused the wrongful death.
“While the Court is skeptical of the Plaintiff’s ability to connect that to emission amounts during the relevant time period and to further establish causation regarding a particular weather event in 2021, the Plaintiff has sufficiently alleged the causation to survive a motion to dismiss under CR 12(b)(6).”
The judge’s concerns in the ruling mirrored his comments during the hearing where both parties presented their arguments.
The judge repeatedly noted that the types of causation issues that may arise are not ones the court could resolve at this early stage of the case.
“Whether or not the Plaintiff will be able to establish causation is for another day.”
Attorneys for the defendants concurred with the court’s skepticism, telling Law360:
“’[…] the lawsuit “seeks to exploit a personal tragedy to advance meritless climate tort litigation, and the court rightly expressed its skepticism.’”
‘It defies logic to suggest that an alleged failure to warn Washington consumers could affect global climate change,’ Boutrous said.”
Another Activist-Backed Attack
As the New York Times has reported, this case was brought after the Rockefeller-funded activist group, Center for Climate Integrity (CCI), approached Misti Leon, whose mother had passed away during the 2021 heat dome.
But in addition to advising Leon, CCI actually drafted the complaint themselves.
Court records also show that just two days before the lawsuit was filed, Leon agreed to sign control of her mother’s estate over to Sarah Myhre, a climate activist with a background “in the field of climate accountability and litigation,” highlighting potential additional influence.
Myhre also serves as the Director of Partnerships at Democracy Forward, a powerful progressive legal nonprofit. While Democracy Forward denies involvement in the wrongful death case, there is reason to wonder.
As we documented on EID, public records show the group was in close communication with California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office after the state filed its climate lawsuit in 2023, celebrated the filing, and later joined a private activist briefing organized by CCI and the California DOJ.
In those exchanges, a Democracy Forward staffer also told the California AG’s office that the group was expanding into “state- and additional climate-related work.”
Two years later, Myhre assumed control of Leon’s mother’s estate two days before the wrongful death lawsuit was filed in Washington State.
Bottom Line
Despite allowing the case to go forward, the judge raised serious concerns about the lawsuit and the merit behind the fringe ‘climate homicide’ theory.
As climate lawsuits fail nationwide, this case is another example of activists pursuing new ways to target American oil companies and raise energy prices for millions of people, even in the face of an affordability crisis.
Read more at EID Climate
