In a last - ditch endeavor to deflect a Massachusetts lawsuit , Exxon claimed being sued violated its First Amendment right to free speech . On Tuesday , that apparent motion to dismiss the suitwas thrown outin the state ’s Supreme Judicial Court . The lawsuit , which accuses Exxon of lying for decades about the mood impacts of fossil fuel , will now move forward . Earlier this week , another lawsuit against big oil progressedin Rhode Island , too .
The Massachusetts lawsuit was first brought by the state ’s attorney full general , Maura Healy , in 2019 and amended with more allegations in 2020 . Although there’slots of stuffExxon could and should believably be hold accountable for , Healy ’s complaint focuses on the troupe ’s decades of deception surrounding its environmental impact .
Exxon has sleep together about mood changesince at leastthe 1970s . But , as allegedin the lawsuit , “ Exxon systematically and designedly has mislead Massachusetts investors about cloth clime - driven risks to its business and hasdeceived consumersabout the central part its dodo fuel product play in get mood modification . ”
During an earlier state suit against ExxonMobil, protestors stand outside the New York State Supreme Court building in 2019.Photo:ANGELA WEISS / Contributor(Getty Images)
Exxon ’s in style , break motility to dismiss was based on legislating known as“anti - SLAPP ” law . SLAPP stands for strategic lawsuits against public participation and is imply to describe a eccentric of groundless lawsuit brought by ( mostly ) robust people and corporal stakeholders to strangle critique ( theoretical example : Exxon countersues the AG Healy ) . So , anti - SLAPP law are generally meant to protect the language of corporate critics .
Massachusetts ’ eminent court has disapprove Exxon ’s attempt to weaponize anti - SLAPP laws , declare that anti - SLAPP legislation does n’t apply to case bring in by the administration .
“ Once again , Exxon ’s attacks on my office and our typesetter’s case have been refuse by the court , ” said Healy ina statement . “ Today ’s ruling is a resounding victory in our work to stop Exxon from lying to investor and consumers in our state of matter . Exxon ’s repeated attempts to stonewall our lawsuit have been baseless , and this effort was no different . We look onward to proceed with our casing and deliver our day in court to show how Exxon is breaking the police force and to put an end to the deception once and for all . ”
antecedently , the dodo fuel giant had also assay to weasel out of being action by claiming that Healy ’s complaint was politically motivated . ( The attorney general iscurrently runningfor regulator . ) However , a court of law struck this down , too .
On Monday , a exchangeable shell in Rhode Island against multiple fossil fuel companies , include Exxon and Chevron , also moved forward . That suit take to force companies topay for damages associatedwith clime change , on the base that taxpayer money is used to fund infrastructure fixing after climate - variety tie in calamity like storms and floods .
The defendant companies had endeavor to keep the case in Union court , where they ’d in all probability have an vantage , but the U.S. Court of Appeals opted to transport the face back to the state . State court of justice oftenhave a wider latitudeto demand documentation in theirdiscovery processthan their Union twin . Thus , suit at the land level often result in big phonograph recording reveal that companies would rather avoid .
The Rhode Island and Massachusetts tribunal battlesare partofstringofstateandcityeffortsto take oil companies to task . However , previous caseshave ended inwinsfor fossil fuel . Maybe one day , justice will be able-bodied toaim bigger , but for now , at least some storey of aftermath is up for considerateness . In possibility , every dime that Exxon has to spend on attorney is 10 penny less towardpolluting the planet .
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