Dana Nessel, Michigan attorney general

LANSING — On Friday, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed a federal antitrust lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan against several petroleum companies and a leading oil lobbying group accusing them of violating federal and state-level antitrust laws.

Nessel’s lawsuit alleges BP, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Shell and the American Petroleum Institute for alleged violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act, the Clayton Antitrust Act and the Michigan Antitrust Reform Act.

The announcement comes two days after a group of Republican attorneys general issued a warning letter accusing the climate activist group Ceres of antitrust violations by coordinating efforts to pressure financial institutions and corporations away from investments into fossil fuels, calling the group “a ringleader of the ‘climate cartel.'”

According to Nessel’s suit, the fossil fuel defendants acted as a cartel to restrain trade and preemptively limit competition from renewable energy in both transportation and the primary energy market.

Specifically, Nessel’s suit accuses the defendants and other co-conspirators of decades long efforts to abandon renewable energy products; use patent manipulation and litigation to hinder market competitors; suppress information concerning the once-hidden costs of fossil fuels and the viability of alternatives; infiltrate and knowingly mislead information-producing institutions; surveil and intimidate watchdogs and public officials; and use trade associations to coordinate market-wide efforts to divert capital expenditures away from renewable energy.

“Michigan is facing an energy affordability crisis as our home energy costs skyrocket and consumers are left without affordable options for transportation. Whether you own a home, a small business, or run a large corporation, rising energy and transportation costs harm everyone,” Nessel said in a statement. “These out-of-control costs are not the result of natural economic inflation, but due to the greed of these corporations who prioritized their own profit and marketplace dominance over competition and consumer savings.”

In 2024, Nessel put out the call for proposals for attorneys and law firms to serve as Special Assistant Attorneys General to pursue legal action on behalf of the people of Michigan for climate change impacts caused by the fossil fuel industry.

Nessel selected Sher Edling LLP, DiCello Levitt LLP, and Hausfeld LLP to pursue this action. According to the Department of Attorney General, each firm entered into contingency contracts for their work, meaning the state will not pay any expenses for their efforts, with the firms receiving compensation as part of a share of any financial relief awarded through the lawsuit.