This blog is the second in a three-part series highlighting new revelations in New Jersey that shed further light on the climate litigation campaign. Read the first blog on CCI’s entrenchment at the local level here.
Just weeks after being confirmed by the state legislature in October 2022, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin’s first big move was filing a 200-page complaint against oil and natural gas companies. The abrupt filing — coupled with the knowledge that climate activists had long been circling the Garden State — led to speculation regarding the role of third parties in the lawsuit’s origination.
That speculation has turned to confirmed fact. Emails recently obtained through public records requests have begun to peel the onion that is the extensive coordination behind New Jersey’s climate lawsuit, the activist group Center for Climate Integrity (CCI), and the plaintiffs’ law firm Sher Edling, even revealing how CCI was “really impressed” by the state’s rollout.
Here’s what you should know:
CCI’s Behind-the-Scenes Support of Climate Lawsuit
While serving in an interim attorney general capacity for several months in 2022, Attorney General Platkin made no mention of “environment” or “climate” anywhere in his priorities, including on his official website or during his confirmation hearing. Yet, his first major move a mere weeks after being confirmed was a lawsuit against oil and natural gas companies.
Back in October, as Platkin was about to kick off his press conference announcing the lawsuit, CCI was quick to tout the news, tweeting nearly in sync with the attorney general’s office. We now know that’s because CCI was offering plenty of behind-the-scenes support.
One day after the press conference announcing the lawsuit, Lauren O’Brien with Pay Up Climate Polluters of New Jersey – an arm of CCI where she serves as a paid lobbyist on their behalf, banking nearly $100,000 in 2021 – reached out to Sean Moriarty, the Deputy Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to offer further support. The New Jersey DEP is also named as a plaintiff on the state’s complaint, alongside the New Jersey Department of Consumer Affairs and the Office of the Attorney General.
O’Brien referred Moriarty to Leaders for Climate Accountability, a group run by CCI that includes state and local elected officials calling for climate lawsuits, asking him to join her “colleagues at CCI” in giving a “personalized update regarding the state’s climate case” to New Jersey elected officials.
In her follow-up note, O’Brien referenced a conversation she had with Moriarty at the press conference announcing the lawsuit. Moriarty and O’Brian had discussed his upcoming presentation on municipal climate litigation, which was scheduled for the New Jersey State League of Municipalities conference in November 2022.
The very next day, in an email thread with Christina Brandt-Young from the attorney general’s office and Anjuli Ramos-Busot from the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club, Doug O’Malley from the activist group Environment New Jersey praised the rollout of the state’s lawsuit:
“I am happy to say that our allies at Center for Climate Integrity – who know a thing or two about state climate liability litigation – were really impressed by the event and the presentation…” (emphasis added)
Later, in November, Deputy Commissioner Moriarty presented at a private, 30-minute virtual briefing on the state’s climate lawsuit to two CCI-sponsored groups comprised of state- and municipal-level elected officials.
Moriarty didn’t just start coordinating with CCI after New Jersey announced its lawsuit – the emails show that Moriarty had been on CCI’s “Pay Up Climate Polluters NJ” mailing list since at least September 2021, and previously released public records show NJ OAG officials in communication with CCI as far back as July 2020.
Attorney General Hiding Fees for Sher Edling
In addition to the revealed coordination, emails show that the state is also withholding the details and fee agreement for its special attorney contract with a private, San Francisco-based plaintiffs’ firm.
Platkin retained Sher Edling, the law firm that represents nearly two dozen states and municipalities in climate lawsuits on a contingency fee basis, while simultaneously accepting outside funds from wealthy donors including Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio. However, the details of the New Jersey attorney general’s contract with Sher Edling and the fee arrangement were not made public.
These fee agreements can set up a firm to take a substantial cut out of potential damages otherwise awarded to taxpayers. In Minnesota, for example, Sher Edling stands to make 16.67% on the first $150 million and 7.5% on any portions above $150 million if a successful outcome is achieved.
New responses to public records requests digging further into just how much AG Platkin has promised to pay a private firm were returned heavily redacted – keeping taxpayers in the dark.
These emails raise several key questions:
Bottom Line: The coordination in New Jersey is no surprise, as the state has been a longtime recruitment target of CCI. But suspected coordination is now confirmed coordination as these emails showcase more of CCI’s behind-the-scenes activity surrounding the state’s climate lawsuit. While it appears CCI and Sher Edling found a willing participant to further their litigation motives, New Jersey taxpayers are being left in the dark on just how much they’ll be on the hook for Platkin’s lawsuit – a lawsuit that was suspiciously never campaigned on or publicized until it was already filed.
