Michigan takes major oil companies to court
The lawsuit alleges that the companies acted together as a cartel in an effort to reduce production and distribution of renewable energy and restrain electric vehicles. Specifically, the suit states: “To achieve this end, they have abandoned renewable energy projects, used patent litigation to hinder rivals, suppressed information concerning the hidden costs of fossil fuels and viability of alternatives, infiltrated and knowingly misdirected information-producing institutions, surveilled and intimidated watchdogs and public officials, and used trade associations to coordinate market-wide efforts to divert capital expenditures away from renewable energy — all to further one of the most successful antitrust conspiracies in United States history.”
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel further explained: “Michigan is facing an energy affordability crisis as our home energy costs skyrocket and consumers are left without affordable options for transportation. These out-of-control costs are not the result of natural economic inflation, but due to the greed of these corporations who prioritized their own profit and marketplace dominance over competition and consumer savings.”
The defendants have also commented on the proceedings, stating that the allegations are baseless and have already been dismissed in other states: “Federal and state courts have dismissed lawsuits seeking climate-related damages in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, and South Carolina. This lawsuit also ignores the fact that Michigan is highly dependent on oil and gas to support the state’s automakers and workers,” Chevron counsel Theodore J. Boutrous Jr. said.
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