ExxonMobil launches retaliatory lawsuit against California AG and NGOs for recycling “defamation”

ExxonMobil has filed a counter lawsuit against California Attorney General Rob Bonta and various environmental groups, accusing them of “defaming” and “disparaging” the multinational oil and gas corporation’s plastics business and recycling initiatives in an ongoing court case over greenwashing and public negligence, Reuters has reported. 

A spokesperson for the California Department of Justice reportedly commented: “This is another attempt from Exxon to deflect attention from its own unlawful deception. The Attorney General is proud to advance his lawsuit against Exxon and looks forward to vigorously litigating this case in court.” 

Exxon accuses Bonta and several environmental groups, including billionaire Andrew Forrest’s charity Intergenerational Environment Justice Fund (IEJF), of conspiring to defame it.

The suit alleges that Minderoo Foundation, which IEJF is a subsidiary of, made several false and deceptive statements in its reports concerning Exxon’s plastic waste and advanced recycling operations.

Filed in federal court in Beaumont in Texas, the lawsuit furthermore accuses Bonta of acting together with law firm Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy. The US-based law firm is said to have ties to IEJF, controlled by Fortescue founder Forrest’s company Minderoo Foundation.

Fortescue is a global metal mining company headquartered in Australia. It has become a global green technology, energy and metals company aiming to accelerate commercial decarbonization through heavy industry.

The lawsuit states that Fortescue competes with Exxon in low-carbon solutions and the energy transition sector.

Cotchett had recruited US environmental groups as plaintiffs in a lawsuit against Exxon and contributed to Bonta’s political campaign, Exxon has reportedly said.

According to Reuters, the company is asking for undisclosed damages and a retraction of the “defamatory statements.”

Bonta sued Exxon last year in what environmental campaigners called “the single most consequential lawsuit filed against the plastics industry” in history. 

The suit alleged that through decades of negligence and intentional misinformation, the petrochemical giant caused and concealed serious harm to public and environmental health throughout the state.