- Exxon Mobil (XOM) is taking a tough stance against parties who are suing it over climate change by suing the lawyers who are suing it, Bloomberg reports.
- XOM has targeted at least 30 people and organizations, including the attorneys general of New York and Massachusetts, hitting them with lawsuits, threats of suits or demands for sworn depositions, claiming they are “conspiring” against it in a coordinated legal and public relations campaign.
- XOM denies allegations that it covered up information about climate change, thus defrauding shareholders and consumers, and says its aggressive defense is intended to show that it is being punished for not toeing the line on climate change, even though it agrees with the scientific consensus.
- Plaintiff lawyers say XOM’s tactics are meant to intimidate opponents and that there is nothing improper about lawyers discussing legal strategies together.
- "People often try to use litigation to change the cultural conversation," says a professor at the University of Connecticut School of Law. XOM "is positioning itself as a victim rather than a perpetrator."
- Now read: Sell Exxon Mobil Ahead Of Analyst Day
Original article