The daughter of an Oregon woman who died during the 2021 Pacific Northwest heat dome is suing seven oil and gas companies for wrongful death.
Misti Leon alleges that the death of her mother, Juliana, was the “direct and foreseeable consequence” of the companies’ promotion of fossil fuels and their failure to warn the public that burning them could increase global temperatures.
“Defendants knew that continued fossil fuel consumption would lead to a climate crisis and spur deadly events like the 2021 heat dome,” the lawsuit says, adding that the “deception campaign furthermore limited understanding of the causes and consequences of climate change” and stunted measures to adapt that could have saved lives.
Juliana “Julie” Leon, 65, died of heatstroke in June 2021 on what was the hottest day ever recorded in Seattle, Washington. That morning, she had driven 100 miles from her home to a doctor’s appointment for a follow-up visit related to a voluntary bariatric surgery she had undergone a few weeks before. Leon’s doctors cleared her to eat solid foods and took her vitals, finding no issue.
