Climate Suits Pushing Tort Law Into Uncharted Waters

A group of big cities are seeking damages from the fossil fuel industry over the costs of climate change. These suits against some of the biggest names in the energy world are taking a very old legal idea—the tort—and trying to adapt it to a new environmental problem. On this week's episode of our environmental podcast, Parts Per Billion, we hear from two lawyers involved in this litigation, one representing the plaintiffs and the other with the defendants. Plaintiffs' attorney Katie Jones, with the San Francisco-based firm Sher Edling, talks about the oil and gas companies' role in climate change and why they should be forced to remunerate her clients. And Gibson Dunn's Ted Boutrous, who's defending Chevron in these suits, says the plaintiffs' arguments push the idea of a tort claim way beyond its logical limits.