New York Lost A Landmark Climate Fraud Case Against Exxon

A New York judge ruled Tuesday that ExxonMobil did not make misleading statements in public disclosures about the company’s climate change risks, delivering a major win to the oil giant in the highly anticipated climate fraud case.

New York Supreme Court Judge Barry Ostrager found that the New York attorney general “failed to establish by a preponderance of the evidence” that the oil giant violated the law “in connection with its public disclosures concerning how ExxonMobil accounted for past, present, and future climate change risks,” according to his decision.

The New York attorney general launched an investigation into Exxon’s alleged climate lies in 2015, and sued the company in 2018 for violating the state’s Martin Act, one of the strongest anti-fraud laws in the nation. In October, this became the first climate fraud case to go to trial in the US.

Exxon celebrated the decision, while New York vowed to keep fighting to hold companies accountable.

"Today’s ruling affirms the position ExxonMobil has held throughout the New York Attorney General’s baseless investigation," Casey Norton, an Exxon spokesperson, wrote in an emailed statement. "We provided our investors with accurate information on the risks of climate change."