Washington Woman Files Historic Climate Death Lawsuit Against Big Oil

A wrongful death lawsuit filed by Misti Leon in Washington state accuses seven major fossil fuel companies, including ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, BP, and ConocoPhillips, of causing the 2021 Pacific Northwest heat dome that led to her mother Juliana Leon's death. Juliana died of hyperthermia after driving to Seattle for a medical appointment during a record-breaking 108°F heatwave, with her car's air conditioning broken, and the lawsuit claims this extreme heat event was "virtually impossible" without human-caused climate change driven primarily by fossil fuel emissions. The suit alleges that these companies have known since at least the 1950s about the climate risks of their products but concealed this knowledge, funded disinformation campaigns, downplayed risks, and misled the public to protect profits. Legal experts note this case is one of the first wrongful death claims seeking to hold fossil fuel companies directly accountable for specific deaths linked to climate change and could set a significant precedent for corporate accountability. The fossil fuel companies have largely dismissed the lawsuit as meritless and politicized. This legal action underscores growing pressures on fossil fuel companies to answer for their role in climate change and its deadly consequences.