Nelson City Council has voted in favour of signing on to the Sue Big Oil class-action suit, but with an important caveat.
If the lawsuit is not certified by the B.C. Supreme Court as a class action by 2030, Nelson will withdraw its pledged contribution.
That contribution consists of $11,500 (about one dollar per resident) to be put in reserve until the total contributions from B.C. municipalities reach $500,000, at which time the court will be asked to certify (approve) the suit as a class action. Then a trial would begin.
This process is being co-ordinated by West Coast Environmental Law, a Vancouver non-profit organization.
The lawsuit will ask the court to order that oil companies compensate municipalities for costs incurred because their products have caused damage due to climate change. This includes the need for preventive measures like upgrading storm water systems and mitigating the risks of wildfires and flooding.
At the May 6 council meeting, Councillor Rik Logtenberg said it has been proven that during the 1990s several of the major oil companies knew the burning of fossil fuels causes climate change. They then embarked on a concentrated international public relations campaign to deny this, thereby swaying public opinion toward climate change denial.
Meanwhile, he said, cities have to spend money on preventing the effects of increasingly extreme weather and cleaning up after it.
"The oil companies lied," he said, "leading to direct harm, and continues to cause harm to the City of Nelson, and to Nelson residents. The municipal purpose of this case is very clear: that we need to recover costs."
He said this is part of a council's job.
"We engage in all sorts of activities related to protecting our financial interests and the well-being of our residents."
A class action is a lawsuit started by one person (or municipality) on behalf of members of a group that have a similar claim against a person or company. In this case, the claim would be advanced by the lead plaintiff – one municipality (its identity not yet decided) – on behalf of all municipalities in B.C. Whether or not they formally sign on, all are members of the class by default, at no expense.
The $11,000 pledged by Nelson can be seen as fundraising to get the process started. Nelson's name will not be on the legal documents. The only name would be that of the lead municipality. The City of Nelson will not have to hire its own lawyer, and no further money would be asked of Nelson.
If the claimant municipalities win at a trial and the companies are forced to pay for damages caused by climate change, a share of the proceeds could flow to any or all municipalities in the class including Nelson.
B.C. law establishes that if a class of plaintiffs lose a class-action lawsuit, they cannot be ordered to pay winner's legal costs.
So far, 10 other municipalities have signed on to the class action: Pemberton, Squamish, Burnaby, Cumberland, Slocan, View Royal, Sechelt, Gibsons, Qualicum Beach, and Port Moody.
In February, the Regional District of Central Kootenay board voted not to join Sue Big Oil.
