Maine is now the ninth U.S. state to sue major oil companies under accusations they deceived the public about the effects of fossil fuel on climate change.
Attorney General Aaron Frey announced the lawsuit Tuesday against five oil giants – Exxon, Shell, Chevron, BP, Sunoco – and the American Petroleum Institute, which was filed in Cumberland County Superior Court.
The complaint claims the industry had internal data as early as the 1960s showing the potential catastrophic consequences of increased use of fossil fuels.
The language in Frey’s lawsuit is similar to filings by other Democratic state attorneys general.
“For over half a century, these companies chose to fuel profits instead of following their science to prevent what are now likely irreversible, catastrophic climate effects,” said Frey in a news release. “In so doing, they burdened the State and our citizens with the consequences of their greed and deception.”
The Maine lawsuit is asking the Court to require the five companies and American Petroleum Institute to pay for “both past and future climate harms caused by the Defendants, a figure which continues to rise each day, and to require the Defendants to cease their ongoing deception in Maine.” The complaint is seeking a jury trial and does not stipulate a dollar amount in damages.
The other eight state that filed similar lawsuits are New Jersey, California, Delaware, Minnesota, Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, along with the District of Columbia.
Frey is seeking reelection and is being challenged by fellow Democrat Maeghan Maloney, who is the district attorney for Kennebec and Somerset counties
The attorney general is one of three Maine constitutional officers, which also include the secretary of state and treasurer, that are elected by lawmakers through a secret ballot process.
