Press Release  AG Healey Issues Statement in Response to Court Rulings Denying Exxon’s Motions to Dismiss Office’s Lawsuit

BOSTON — Attorney General Maura Healey released the following statement in response to two orders out of Suffolk Superior Court denying Exxon’s motion to dismiss and Exxon’s special motion to dismiss AG Healey’s lawsuit against the company for deceptively advertising to Massachusetts consumers, and for misleading Massachusetts investors about the risks posed by fossil fuel-driven climate change.

“Today’s rulings represent a significant step forward for my office’s work to hold Exxon accountable for lying to Massachusetts consumers about the climate harms of using its fossil fuel products and to Massachusetts investors about the negative impact of climate change on the value of its business. To this day, Exxon is continuing to promote its fossil fuel products to consumers as good for the environment and misleading investors that demand for fossil fuels will remain strong for the foreseeable future. We look forward to litigating the merits of our claims and stopping Exxon’s continued illegal deception.”

BACKGROUND:

In October 2019, AG Healey sued Exxon Mobil Corporation for misleading both consumers and investors about the climate dangers of its fossil fuel products and the risks that climate change poses to its business. The complaint alleges that Exxon deceived Massachusetts consumers by marketing and selling its products as clean, greenhouse-gas reducing and beneficial to the environment, and falsely promoting itself as an environmentally responsible clean energy leader working to address climate change. In June 2020, the AG’s Office filed an amended complaint against Exxon, adding new allegations, including how the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the vulnerability of Exxon’s business model to market shifts like those that climate change is already causing.

Handling the case are attorneys and staff from AG Healey’s Energy and Environment, Government, and Executive Bureaus and from AG Healey’s Consumer Protection and Insurance and Financial Services Divisions.

All publicly filed documents related to AG Healey’s Exxon litigation can be found here.

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