Climate Torts and Corporate Liability: Reimagining Personal Injury Claims
Preparing for Legal Fallout From Leon v. ExxonMobil Corp.
A live 90-minute CLE video webinar with interactive Q&A
This CLE webinar will discuss recent expansion in corporate tort liability for personal injury linked to climate change. Catastrophic events including heat domes, wildfires, floods, and major storms routinely cause personal injury. Leon v. ExxonMobil Corp. is the first U.S. suit to directly allege wrongful death caused by climate change. As extreme climate event occurrence and severity increase, more plaintiff lawsuits may emerge linking physical harm to corporate actions.
Outline
- Introduction
- Overview of recent extreme weather events: heat domes, wildfires, and floods
- From emissions to personal injury: the evolution of climate litigation
- Key case: Leon v. ExxonMobil Corp.: wrongful death linked to climate change
- Corporate liability and climate torts
- Wrongful death and negligence: expanding traditional tort doctrine
- Public nuisance and failure to warn: new uses of old causes of action
- Global context: Smith v. Fonterra, Lliuya v. RWE, and climate torts abroad
- Risk factors for fossil fuel, energy, and consumer product companies
- Insurance gaps and climate coverage
- CGL and D&O insurance: typical exclusions and coverage defenses
- Greenwashing and disclosure liability under securities and tort law
- Parametric and climate-specific insurance: emerging products
- ESG assessments and insurer underwriting trends
- Governmental liability, sovereign immunity, and climate response
- Duties of care in public health and emergency management
- State tort claims acts: waivers, exceptions, and litigation strategies
- Ministerial vs. discretionary functions in disaster preparation
- Case examples: cooling centers, public housing, power shutoffs
- Proactive strategies for legal risk mitigation
- Climate attribution tracking and legal readiness
- Disclosure best practices and failure to warn audits
- Internal policy design: heat protocols, safety standards, public access
- Contractual risk transfer: indemnity, liability limits, ESG clauses
- Conclusion with Q&A
Benefits
The panel will review these and other important issues:
- Emerging tort theories linking climate change and personal injury
- Corporate exposure to climate liability through public nuisance, product liability, and greenwashing
- Insurance coverage issues including exclusions, climate-specific riders, and ESG-related denial of claims
- State and federal governmental immunity defenses for climate-related disaster response failures
Faculty
Michael S. McDonough
Partner
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman
Mr. McDonough represents Fortune 500 companies, municipalities and private entities in complex environmental... | Read More
Mr. McDonough represents Fortune 500 companies, municipalities and private entities in complex environmental litigation, administrative and enforcement matters at the federal, state and local levels. His practice focuses on defending enforcement actions, bringing regulatory challenges, litigating with and counseling clients on compliance with regulatory agencies, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Justice, the California Air Resources Board and the California Energy Commission, among others. Mr. McDonough has particular experience in the interpretation and enforcement of air quality regulations in California’s South Coast Air Quality Management District, the largest and most sophisticated local air quality regulatory agency in the world.
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Lauren Varnado
Partner
Brown Rudnick
Ms. Varnado, a partner in Brown Rudnick's Litigation & Dispute Resolution Practice Group, is an... | Read More
Ms. Varnado, a partner in Brown Rudnick's Litigation & Dispute Resolution Practice Group, is an experienced first-chair trial lawyer. She tries high-stakes, “bet the company” oil, gas, energy and tech disputes, securing victories for plaintiffs and defendants before trial and appellate courts, juries and arbitration panels. Ms. Varnado has been recognized by The American Lawyer and Lawdragon Top 500 U.S. as a leading energy lawyer, and honored by Vogue as an “Influential Woman of Houston.” She represents clients in breach of contract, fraud, oil and gas royalties, alleged environmental contamination, theft of trade secrets, midstream transportation, processing and refinement, joint operations and FERC enforcement litigation, as well as market manipulation related to trading in energy and commodity markets. Ms. Varnado routinely advises private and public E&P companies on rights and obligations under upstream, midstream, power and LNG contracts; litigation avoidance and risk mitigation; climate litigation; and investments and obligations in carbon emissions reduction, carbon capture, and renewable energy (solar and wind).
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