Exclusive: Left-wing advocacy nonprofits, with support from trial law firms and Democrats, are increasingly relying on the legal system to advance Green New Deal policies, according to a new consumer report shared with Fox News Digital. It has become.
The report, released Thursday by Consumers Union, explores how advocacy groups are using public nuisance lawsuits to remove products and services that are “not aligned with progressive policies,” such as fossil fuels and firearms, from the market. Describe in detail what you are trying to do. Public nuisance laws prohibit actions that harm nearby people or property and are typically enforced by government agencies.
“Public nuisance cases are not about putting money into the hands of victims,” Consumers Union Executive Director O.H. Skinner said in an interview with Fox News Digital. “Public nuisance lawsuits are designed to funnel large sums of money into “nuisance abatement,” and then use that money to claim goodwill in lawsuits against victims, consumers, or giant corporations. It doesn’t go to the traditional people you might think.”
“There’s so little attention to that. That’s why we’ve spent a lot of time emphasizing that these are actually ideological weapons, because public nuisance is a pet cause. Because it’s a unique tool that generates billions of dollars for bankruptcies and risk ‘bankruptcies, assholes,”’ Skinner continued. “If you want to end gun manufacturing in America, if you want to paralyze fossil fuel and energy companies, this is a very unique tool.”
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Left-wing advocacy nonprofits, with support from trial law firms and Democrats, are increasingly relying on the legal system to advance Green New Deal policies, according to a new consumer report shared with Fox News Digital. It has become. (Adobe Stock)
According to the report, public nuisance cases typically involve a similar “strategy” in which left-wing interest groups identify an issue that affects people, identify companies within that industry, and then sue them for “consequential damages.” be pursued using They then use political and public pressure to force settlement of the lawsuit, Consumers Union concluded.
In addition to fossil fuels and firearms, nuisance incidents also target chemicals, plastics, e-cigarettes and car manufacturers.
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Oil workers walk toward an oil rig in Loving County, Texas. Fossil fuel companies have been the target of public nuisance lawsuits in recent years, alleging that their activities are contributing to climate change and other natural disasters. (Reuters/Angus Mordaunt)
Overall, Skinner said, the public nuisance case, which focuses specifically on climate change, is aimed at “stitching together” large sums of money to replace the Green New Deal. The bill, which proposes trillions of dollars in spending to force an economy-wide transition to green energy, was first introduced several years ago by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D.Y.). However, it has not yet received a vote on the floor.
Consumers Union’s report also highlights multiple federal lawmakers and governors who have sought to strengthen public nuisance lawsuits and, in some cases, have filed or become involved in such lawsuits. The group includes Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (DR.I.), Ed Markey (Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (Connecticut), Bernie Sanders (Vermont), and Elizabeth. He points to Sens. Warren (Massachusetts) and Jeff Merkley. -Oregon, California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, and especially California Democratic Governor Phil Murphy.
The Alliance for Consumers focuses on Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom’s efforts to promote public nuisance cases. In September, his administration filed a public nuisance lawsuit against the oil industry. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)
“A long line of progressive U.S. senators have used their offices to encourage additional use of public nuisance lawsuits or provide formal legal support to existing public nuisance lawsuits. ” states the report.
“Understanding more about these U.S. senators driving public nuisance litigation, from their core policy priorities to the role they play in public nuisance litigation, helps explain the goals of the modern public nuisance movement.” It helps a lot,” he adds.
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For example, the White House has long supported public nuisance lawsuits, dating back to his time as Rhode Island’s attorney general in 1999, when he filed a similar suit against a manufacturer accused of adding lead to its products. But he has since supported widespread litigation against the fossil fuel industry, filing briefs in lawsuits filed in his home state and California.
Photo of Senate Budget Chairman Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (DR.I.) during a hearing on May 4, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc, via Getty Images)
Other legislators named in the report have similarly filed briefs in such cases or offered public support for such efforts.
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“They’ve stepped in a number of times and tried to use their official offices to make a statement,” Skinner said. “The Sheldon White House, which denounces the loan sharks, has publicly filed briefs and said it is using progressive climate change law firm Shah Edling, fueled by loan sharks, to achieve progressive goals. issued a statement supporting the attorney general of his home state.
“It makes it clear in a way that this is a no-holds-barred attack because he’s always talking about black money, but when that progressive dark money is funding lawsuits, even if Even in his home state, he’s right there filing legal briefs,’ and how this has to prevail,” he continued.
Vic Shah, partner at law firm Shah Edling, will discuss climate change litigation in which he is involved during a virtual panel discussion in December 2021. (American Tort Museum/YouTube)
California-based trial law firm Sher Edling has filed numerous climate-related public nuisance lawsuits across the country in recent years. The firm alleges in a new lawsuit that oil companies are financially responsible for global warming and, in turn, weather events that affect people, property, and communities, and states Rhode Island, New Jersey, and Delaware. , is suing on behalf of Minnesota and New York. City, Washington DC, San Francisco, Baltimore, Honolulu, Many local governments across the country.
Scher Edling, founded in 2016 to spearhead such lawsuits, says on its website that its climate efforts include holding oil companies such as Chevron, ExxonMobil and Shell accountable for alleged “deceptions.” He states that he is aiming for About climate change.
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The company raised millions of dollars from liberal black-finance nonprofits to fund its operations. The full extent of Shah Edling’s financial structure is unclear, but over the years the company has received donations from pass-through funds managed by the left-wing New Venture Fund. Its individual donors are hidden from public view and donors can remain anonymous. .
As a result, the deal has drawn scrutiny from watchdog groups and lawmakers, including Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and the House Oversight Committee. Chairman James Comer, Republican Party of Kentucky.
“As I warned, it is clear that a radical left-wing black finance group is paying for Shah Edling’s climate change movement with the goal of bankrupting America’s energy employers,” Cruz said. He previously told FOX News Digital. “The New Venture Fund and Shah Edling’s litigation gamble is nothing less than an attempt to eliminate fossil fuels, a goal that lacks the support of a majority in Congress.”
