ExxonMobil took a loss last week when the judge handling the New York and Massachusetts attorneys general case denied the oil giant’s attempts to get the case moved to Texas.
The judge decided on Wednesday to send the case to New York because the foundation of Exxon's lawsuit rests on a press conference a year ago hosted by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who has been investigating Exxon under the state's powerful securities laws. At the highly publicized event, Schneiderman announced the formation of a coalition of attorneys general under the banner AGs United for Clean Power. The intent of the coalition was to hold Exxon and the fossil fuel industry accountable for climate change.
Exxon had been under investigation by New York for six months when Schneiderman announced the coalition. Massachusetts and the US. Virgin Islands opened investigations around the same time the coalition was formed.
ExxonMobil is not only based in Dallas, Texas, they have Texas Rep. Lamar Smith carrying all kinds of water for them already. United States District Judge Ed Kinkeade wrote in his transfer decision that:
The merits of each of Exxon’s claims involve important issues that should be determined by a court, however, this Court is not the proper venue to rule on the merits of Exxon’s claims. “The district court of a district in which is filed a case laying venue in the wrong division or district shall dismiss, or if it in the interest of justice, transfer such case to any district or division in which it could have been brought.”
[...]
The merits of Exxon’s claims, which involves important issues, should be considered in the proper venue. Accordingly, this case is TRANSFERRED to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Manhattan Division, 28 U.S.C. 1406.
Put one in the “win” column for the Earth.