Recently, the Montana Supreme Court ruled in favor of 16 children who sued the state for violating their constitutional right to a "clean and healthful environment" by not curbing greenhouse gas emissions. (Credit: Parradee/Adobe Stock)
California legislation introduced on Jan. 27, 2025, would give victims of natural disasters a private right of action to sue oil and gas companies for damages related to climate-change driven losses, a legal avenue that the bill's author said is needed following the devastating LA County fires.
SB 222 by Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, would also create a direct cause of action for insurers to recover their coverage payouts from fossil fuel producers. Additionally, the bill calls on the administrators of California's insurance-of-last-resort program, the FAIR plan, to sue Big Oil for claims payments submitted by customers if an expert determines the benefits of such litigation would outweigh the costs.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Cheryl Miller
Cheryl Miller, based in Sacramento, covers the state legislature and emerging industries, including autonomous vehicles and marijuana. She authors the weekly cannabis newsletter Higher Law. Contact her at [email protected]. On Twitter: @CapitalAccounts
