Bill > H7752

This bill establishes a new legal framework in Rhode Island to hold certain companies accountable for damages caused by climate disasters. It creates a "private right of action," meaning individuals, businesses, and local governments can sue "responsible parties" for "climate-attributable harm," which refers to measurable injuries like property damage or economic loss resulting from climate disasters. A "responsible party" is defined as any entity that produced or sold fossil fuel products and made misleading or false statements about their climate impacts, and whose actions are proven to have substantially contributed to these harms in Rhode Island. The bill imposes "strict liability" on these parties, meaning they can be held responsible even if they weren't negligent, as long as their deceptive conduct was a substantial factor in causing the harm. Furthermore, insurers who have paid claims or incurred increased costs due to climate disasters can also sue these responsible parties directly to recover their losses, with any recovered funds intended to stabilize insurance markets and benefit policyholders by offsetting future rate increases. The bill also allows for insurers to exercise subrogation rights, which is the right to step into the shoes of the insured to pursue damages from a responsible third party, and requires an assessment before large-scale litigation to ensure it benefits policyholders. Importantly, this new law does not prevent other legal actions, such as those brought by the Attorney General or under existing consumer protection laws.

Justice

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