A federal judge has boosted the efforts of two tribal governments to sue the oil and gas industry for deceiving the public about the dangers of fossil fuels.
Judge Jamal Whitehead of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington ruled Wednesday that a lawsuit against Exxon Mobil, Shell and other oil giants by the Makah Indian Tribe and Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe can proceed in state court.
The companies had argued that because Indian tribes “derive their right to possess land from federal law,” they are barred from bringing their case to state court.
Advertisement
Whitehead rejected that argument, writing that the federal system “respects the sovereignty of both states and tribes.”
