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2019-07-29 Home Front: Politix

[Free Beacon] The District of Columbia municipal government is exploring an environmentalist lawsuit against oil providers despite buying more than 1 million gallons of gasoline in 2018.

A Washington Free Beacon analysis of invoices obtained by a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for all wholesale purchases for city vehicles found that D.C. paid for more than 1 million gallons of fuel in 2018 alone. The city's consumption of fossil fuels did not stop lawmakers from exploring potential lawsuits against the very companies it purchased fuel from. In March 2019, the district attorney general's office put out a request for bids from outside attorneys to investigate and possibly sue major energy producers such as Exxon for reasons linked to climate change.

The bid alleges "Exxon has failed to inform consumers about the effects of its fossil fuel products on climate change." Steve Berman, one of the attorneys representing New York City in its public nuisance lawsuit against Exxon and other energy companies, was among the lawyers that received the bid. D.C. is just the latest city to go after energy companies. In 2017, the cities of San Francisco and Oakland, along with other smaller governments in California, were the first to file nuisance tort claims against energy companies, asking the court to order the creation of remediation funds to pay for damages.

Since that time, the effort has moved east to government administrations in Baltimore, Rhode Island, and even inland locations such as Boulder, Colorado.

D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser is a leader in the U.S. Conference of Mayors, which filed an amicus brief in support of these lawsuits. The organization passed a resolution in June asking Congress to preserve cities' ability to sue energy producers.

Posted by Besoeker 2019-07-29 00:35|| || Front Page|| [11 views ] Top

#1 Deny them service.

Posted by Dale 2019-07-29 05:52|| 2019-07-29 05:52|| Front Page Top

#2 It's a revenue grab pure and simple. The "climate change" fig leaf isn't fooling anyone except the true believers.

Posted by M. Murcek 2019-07-29 09:26|| 2019-07-29 09:26|| Front Page Top

#3 Let them sue Mainland China for its rapid increase in the use of coal burning power plants. I will make extra popcorn to watch the results.

Posted by magpie 2019-07-29 11:59|| 2019-07-29 11:59|| Front Page Top

#4 Agree with them and stop all wholesale business in the DC. Watch the sales tax, gas tax, and wages take a nose dive. CA tried to boycott AZ over immigration or some crap, so the AZ Gov announce they would support the boycott and reroute the water and power we sell to CA. All the dumbass politicians changed their tune. Exxon needs to do the same. One million gallons is not even measurable in Exxon's revenue...

Posted by 49 Pan 2019-07-29 15:06|| 2019-07-29 15:06|| Front Page Top

#5 Continuing to do business with a customer while engaged in a lawsuit with said customer over your products would be corporate malfeasance.

"Sorry, we can't sell you no more gas 'til we get this straightened out."
"But that could take years given our clogged court system!"
"Yeah. Bummer"

Posted by SteveS 2019-07-29 15:25|| 2019-07-29 15:25|| Front Page Top

#6 How's Joe Kennedy's "heating oil for poor people" thing going since Venezuela stopped pumping?

Posted by M. Murcek 2019-07-29 16:55|| 2019-07-29 16:55|| Front Page Top

#7 It is a shakedown, plane and simple by the DC govt. time to pull the plug on these shakedown artists. When sociopaths are personally hurt then their behavior will change...maybe.

Posted by Alaska Paul 2019-07-29 22:50|| 2019-07-29 22:50|| Front Page Top

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