Description: Consumer protection lawsuit brought by the State of Vermont against fossil fuel companies alleging deceptive and unfair business practices in connection with the companies' sale of their products.
-
Vermont v. Exxon Mobil Corp.
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 09/02/2022 Response Download Response filed by defendants to plaintiff's fifth notice of supplemental authority. 08/19/2022 Notice Download Fifth notice of supplemental authority filed by by plaintiff (Third Circuit decision in Hoboken/Delaware cases). 07/14/2022 Response Download Response filed by defendants to plaintiff's fourth notice of supplemental authority. 07/11/2022 Notice Download Fourth notice of supplemental authority filed by plaintiff (Ninth Circuit decision in Honolulu/Maui cases). 05/09/2022 Notice Download Second notice of supplemental authority filed by plaintiff (Ninth Circuit decision in County of San Mateo case). 04/27/2022 Response Download Response filed by defendants to plaintiff's notice of supplemental authority (Fourth Circuit decision in Baltimore case). 04/14/2022 Notice Download Notice of supplemental authority filed by plaintiff (Fourth Circuit decision in Baltimore case). 04/05/2022 Order Motion to stay denied as moot. 03/25/2022 Response Download Response filed by Vermont in response to defendants' notice. 03/22/2022 Notice Download Notice filed by defendants regarding developments in Connecticut v. Exxon Mobil Corp. 03/18/2022 Reply Download Reply filed in support of plaintiff's motion to remand. 02/18/2022 Opposition Download Memorandum of law filed by defendants in opposition to motion to remand. 12/17/2021 Memorandum of Law Download Memorandum of law filed by Vermont in support of motion to remand. 11/23/2021 Reply Download Reply filed by defendants in support of their motion to stay proceedings. 11/22/2021 Motion Download Motion to remand filed by State of Vermont. On November 22, 2021, Vermont filed its motion to remand to state court, with a memorandum of law to follow on or before December 17, 2021. 11/12/2021 Opposition Download Opposition filed by State of Vermont to defendants' motion to stay proceedings. On November 12, 2021, Vermont filed its opposition to fossil fuel companies’ motion to stay proceedings in the federal district court for the District of Vermont in the State’s consumer protection lawsuit alleging climate change-related deception. The companies had argued that the Second Circuit’s review of the remand order in Connecticut v. Exxon Mobil Corp. would “control, or at least inform,” the result in Vermont’s case. Vermont argued that the companies drew “a false equivalence” between Connecticut’s and Vermont’s claims because Vermont was not seeking monetary relief for climate change damages. 10/29/2021 Motion Download Motion to stay proceedings filed by defendants. On October 29, 2021, Exxon and the other defendants filed a motion to stay the proceedings while the Second Circuit considers Connecticut v. Exxon Mobil Corp., which the defendants said would “control, or at least inform,” the result in this case. 10/22/2021 Notice of Removal Download Notice of removal filed. On October 22, 2021, defendants Exxon Mobil Corporation and ExxonMobil Oil Corporation (Exxon) removed the State of Vermont’s consumer protection suit alleging climate change-related deception to federal court. Exxon said that “[c]limate change, fossil fuel’s alleged contributions to climate change, and statements promoting fossil fuel form the heart” of Vermont’s complaint and that “[s]uch lawsuits are properly removed to federal court because the claims asserted are governed by federal, not state, law.” The notice of removal cited the Second Circuit’s opinion in City of New York v. Chevron Corp. in support of Exxon’s contention that federal common law governs claims such as those brought by Vermont. The notice of removal also identified five other grounds for removal: Grable jurisdiction (because the complaint “necessarily raises several substantial and disputed federal questions concerning federal environmental standards, regulations, and international treaties striking a balance between the use of fossil fuels and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions”); the federal officer removal statute, the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, federal enclave jurisdiction, and diversity jurisdiction. -
Vermont v. Exxon Mobil Corp.
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 09/14/2021 Complaint Download Complaint filed. Vermont Filed Consumer Protection Suit Against Oil and Gas Companies Alleging Deception over Climate Change. On September 14, 2021, Vermont filed a lawsuit against oil and gas companies under its Consumer Protection Act (VCPA). The lawsuit was filed in Vermont Superior Court and asserts that the defendants have misled Vermont consumers about the risks posed by their products, including the causal connection between their products and climate change, and have thereby denied Vermont consumers of the opportunity to make informed decisions about their fossil fuel purchases and consumption. The complaint alleges that the defendants took “extraordinary steps” to keep information about the connection between use of their products and climate change secret despite being “fully aware for decades of the causal link.” The state also contends that the defendants have in more recent years “sought to adjust to shifting public perception through their ‘greenwashing’ campaigns’” in which they “falsely hold themselves out as responsible stewards of the environment.” Vermont seeks a permanent injunction prohibiting the companies from engaging in unfair or deceptive acts and practices and requiring disclosure of fossil fuels’ role in climate change at every point of sale in the state. The state also seeks disgorgement of funds acquired or retained as a result of any unlawful practices, civil penalties of $10,000 for each violation of the VCPA, and investigative and litigation costs and fees.