California Attorney General Rob Bonta has filed an amended complaint in his lawsuit against five major fossil fuel companies—Exxon Mobil, Shell, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and BP—and the American Petroleum Institute (API). The amended complaint seeks disgorgement of illegally obtained profits under AB 1366 to compensate Californians for deception and climate change-related harms.
The complaint alleges that these companies have engaged in a decades-long campaign of deception regarding the reality of climate change and the connection between fossil fuel combustion and climate change. According to the complaint, the companies have known since at least the 1960s that burning fossil fuels would warm the planet but continued to deny this publicly and sow doubt about climate science.
Attorney General Bonta stated, “This much is clear: Big Oil continues to mislead us with their lies and mistruths, and we won’t stand for that. Their ongoing egregious misconduct is damning. We will continue to vigorously prosecute this matter and ensure that Big Oil pays to abate the harm they have caused, and we will recover ill-gotten gains that will benefit Californians.”
The amended complaint includes new evidence of false advertising and misleading environmental marketing by these companies. It claims they are engaging in "greenwashing"—portraying their products as environmentally friendly when they are not. The complaint asserts that such actions deflect attention from their role in causing climate change while misleading consumers about the environmental impact of their products.
In addition to seeking disgorgement of profits under AB 1366 for violations of consumer protection laws, the amended complaint requests that any disgorged funds be deposited into a newly established Victims of Consumer Fraud Restitution Fund. This fund would provide restitution to victims of consumer fraud in California.
A copy of the amended complaint can be found here.