A Washington state judge has green-lighted the first U.S. lawsuit that seeks to hold oil and gas companies accountable for a family member’s heat-related death.
King County Superior Court Judge Matthew Lapin on Wednesday rejected the oil companies’ motions to dismiss, allowing the case to proceed to discovery in state court. The lawsuit, he wrote, is not preempted by federal law because it doesn’t attempt to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.
“This case is about a single individual and an allegation that a single weather event contributed to her untimely passing,” Lapin said. “It is seeking damages for her death and nothing else.”
Misti Leon brought the case in 2025 against seven oil and gas producers. She alleges that her mother’s death during the 2021 Pacific Northwest heat dome was the result of fossil fuel companies’ failure to warn the public that burning their products could increase global temperatures.
