Wrongful Death Lawsuit Claims Big Oil is to Blame for Climate Related Heatwave Death
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Misti Leon made a historic move when she filed a wrongful death lawsuit targeting major fossil fuel companies. Leon's complaint alleges that the companies' actions and active climate deception directly contributed to her mother's death during a record-breaking 2021 heat dome in the Pacific Northwest. Leon's case marks a new frontier in climate accountability litigation.
Case: Misti Leon v. ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, BP, ConocoPhillips, Phillips 66, and the BP-managed subsidiary Olympic Pipeline Company
Court: King County Superior Court
Case No.: 25-2-15986-8 SEA
The Plaintiff: Leon v. ExxonMobil
Misti Leon, acting as the personal representative of her mother's estate, filed this wrongful death suit following the 2021 Pacific Northwest "heat dome"—an extreme weather event scientists confirm would have been virtually impossible without human-induced climate change.
The Defendant: Leon v. ExxonMobil
The lawsuit names seven major fossil fuel companies—ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, BP, ConocoPhillips, Phillips 66, and BP's Olympic Pipeline Company—alleging that their decades-long contributions to greenhouse gas emissions and public deception about climate risk played a direct role in her mother's fatal hyperthermia.
History of the Case: Leon v. ExxonMobil
Filed on May 29, 2025, in King County Superior Court, the suit is unprecedented—marking the first wrongful death claim in the U.S. directly linking a single death to corporate actions exacerbating the climate crisis. The complaint alleges that the 108 °F heat in Seattle that killed Juliana Leon constituted a foreseeable consequence of the defendants' knowingly deceptive actions.
The Main Question in the Case: Leon v. ExxonMobil
The central legal question is whether these fossil fuel companies can be held civilly liable under state wrongful death, public nuisance, or failure-to-warn claims for creating and hiding the dangers of climate change that caused the fatal heatwave.
FAQ: Leon v. ExxonMobil
Q: Is this the first wrongful death lawsuit connected to climate change?
A: Yes—it is the first known U.S. wrongful death claim against fossil fuel companies directly attributing one individual's death to the industry's climate impact.
Q: What are the plaintiff's main legal claims against the defendants?
A: The plaintiff's main allegations in the case are wrongdul death, public nuisance, and failure to warn. Leon alleges that the companies knew of deadly climate risks, but misled consumers regardig the issues and hindered efforts to mitigate.
Q: Does the case rely on scientific attribution of the heatwave to climate change?
A: Yes. Scientific studies cited in the complaint support the claim that the June 2021 heat dome, which reached record temperatures, would have been virtually impossible without human-caused climate change.
If you have questions about how to file a California wrongful death lawsuit, please get in touch with Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik DeBlouw LLP. Knowledgeable wrongful death attorneys are ready to help in various law firm offices in Riverside, San Francisco, Sacramento, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
