Exxon victorious in New York climate fraud case
A judge has today ruled that Exxon Mobil did not mislead its investors on climate change, in a case brought by the state of New York.
Justice Barry Ostrager of the Manhattan supreme court said that the state attorney general had not produced any evidence that investors had been misled over the cost of addressing climate change.
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The lawsuit said that investors had lost up to $1.6bn (£1.2bn) as a result of false claims that Exxon had fully evaluated what effect new climate regulations would have on its business.
Filed in October 2018, the case was the first of several similar lawsuits to be brought against major oil firms.
Former chief executive Rex Tillerson was amongst those to testify during the trial, denying the allegations against the firm.
In a statement, Exxon spokesman Casey Norton said: “Today’s ruling affirms the position Exxon Mobil has held throughout the New York attorney general’s baseless investigation.
“We provided our investors with accurate information on the risks of climate change.”
The office of New York attorney general Letitia James issued the following statement:
“As Rex Tillerson admitted at trial, all investors are entitled to the truth. For the first time in history, ExxonMobil was compelled to answer publicly for their internal decisions that misled investors.
“The oil giant never took seriously the severe economic impact that climate change regulations would have on the company, contrary to what they were telling the public.
“Throughout this case, we laid out how Exxon made materially false, misleading, and confusing representations to the American people about the company’s response to climate change regulations.
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“Exxon’s inability to tell the truth, further underscores the lies that have been sold to the American public for decades.
“Despite this decision, we will continue to fight to ensure companies are held responsible for actions that undermine and jeopardize the financial health and safety of Americans across our country, and we will continue to fight to end climate change.”