Trial Lawyers Are Using Global Warming ‘Attribution’ Studies To Sue Oil Companies

Trial lawyers are using a relatively new area of climate research as ammunition to sue oil companies on behalf of cities allegedly being harmed by man-made global warming. Climate lawsuits have been brought against oil companies in the past, but now trial lawyers are using “attribution” studies to sue oil companies for billions of dollars. “All of these earlier cases didn’t have the benefit of current attribution science, in terms of drawing the link between emissions and impacts, and emissions during a particular period, and attribution to particular corporations,” Vic Sher, a partner at Sher Edling LLP, told The Verge. “We have all that information now,” Sher said. Sher Edling is handling climate lawsuits for six California cities. The firm’s legal complaints utilize attribution studies to link alleged effects of global warming to damages, including sea level rise....more