WASHINGTON, June 25 (Reuters) – The Attorney General for the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit Thursday against Exxon Mobil Corp, BP Plc, Chevron Corp and Royal Dutch Shell Plc for “systematically and intentionally misleading” consumers about the role of their Products play to cause climate change, the latest action by a United States Attorney General against the oil and gas industry.
The lawsuit filed by Attorney General Karl Racine comes a day after Minnesota AG Keith Ellison filed a lawsuit against the American Petroleum Institute, Exxon Mobil and Koch Industries for violating state laws prohibiting consumer fraud, business practices misleading and false advertising.
“The defendants violated the District’s consumer protection law by hiding the fact that the use of fossil fuels threatens the health of District residents and the environment,” Racine said in a statement.
The intent of the legal action is “to end these disinformation campaigns and hold these companies accountable for their deceptive practices,” he said.
The companies were not immediately available for comment.
The Minnesota and DC lawsuits are the latest in a series of legal challenges by states, cities, and citizen groups targeting fossil fuel companies for their role in global warming.
Counterparts in California, New York, and Massachusetts also filed lawsuits against the big oil companies, but the lawsuits in Minnesota and DC focus on consumer protection. (Report by Valerie Volcovici Edited by Marguerita Choy)
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