A wrongful death lawsuit filed in King County Superior Court claims major fossil fuel companies are responsible for the death of a 65-year-old woman during the record-breaking 2021 Pacific Northwest heat dome, arguing the companies knowingly contributed to climate change and misled the public about its dangers.
According to the complaint filed May 29 by Misti Leon, her mother Juliana “Julie” Leon died of hyperthermia in her car in Seattle on June 28, 2021, after being overwhelmed by extreme heat.
The lawsuit alleges that oil giants including ExxonMobil, BP, Chevron, Shell, and ConocoPhillips are liable for Julie’s death and accuses them of a decades-long campaign of deception about the risks of burning fossil fuels…