Oregon county sues oil, coal companies for $51 billion over deadly heat dome

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon’s most populous county is suing more than a dozen fossil fuel companies to recover costs related to extreme weather events. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that the lawsuit filed Thursday in Multnomah County Circuit Court alleges the combined carbon pollution emitted by the companies over decades was a substantial factor in causing and exacerbating a 2021 heat dome that killed 69 people in the county that is home to Portland. The county is seeking more than $51 billion in damages. Most of the companies named in the lawsuit didn’t respond to the newspaper’s request for comment. Chevron Corp. counsel Theodore J. Boutrous, Jr. contended the Constitution bars “these novel, baseless claims.”