If the lawsuit is not certified by 2030, Nelson will withdraw its pledged contribution.
Date: May 7, 2025
Complete Article: Rossland News
This article describes how class action lawsuits work in British Columbia.
Excerpt:
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 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.
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.”
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.