In October 2019, the trial finally begins for the New York Attorney General’s case against ExxonMobil—nearly five years after the investigation began. This is nearly five years since the investigation began under Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, and the current complaint is far from where Schneiderman’s original investigation began as a rehashing of the failed #ExxonKnew argument.
The complaint now centers on a technical matter about how the company calculates “proxy costs” versus “greenhouse gas costs,” with the New York Attorney General alleging the company did not accurately explain to investors how it uses those costs. However, it appears that the AG either misunderstands ExxonMobil’s past representations or was simply forced to lodge their best complaint after such a lengthy investigation. One month before the Attorney General filed their lawsuit, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission concluded an investigation of ExxonMobil that examined the same issues raised in the AG’s complaint and decided against taking an enforcement action against the company.
The shifting focus of the Attorney General’s drawn-out investigation, combined with public statements made at the outset and other communications made by third parties, indicate that this lawsuit is the result of a pre-determined narrative that assumed ExxonMobil’s guilt from the beginning. The Attorney General used the power of the government to engage in a fishing expedition, creating new theories of alleged wrongdoing as each prior theory failed to be borne out by the evidence.
Only after a judge ordered the Attorney General to bring a complaint or end the investigation did the Attorney General file a lawsuit based on a misunderstanding of the difference between “proxy costs” and “greenhouse gas costs.”
The Martin Act is a unique law governing securities, giving New York’s attorney general vast power over publicly-traded companies. Learn more about how this law is being abused.
Nearly four years after announcing its investigation into ExxonMobil, the NY AG is focusing its case on a relatively obscure allegation of how the company accounts for the costs of potential future regulations on climate change. Learn more about how the investigation has shifted as the NY AG came up empty-handed.
Wall Street Journal: A Climate Show Trial
Bloomberg Government: New York’s Case That Exxon Defrauded Investors Is in Trouble
Bloomberg: New York Doesn’t Need a Smoking Gun
Boston Globe: The climate change shakedown
New York Post: The incredible collapsing ‘#ExxonKnew’ climate change lie
Fox Business: A Legal Assault on Energy
Washington Examiner: New York Attorney General’s disdain for rule of law exposed in ExxonMobil case
Times Union: State abusing law with ExxonMobil suit
