The Climate Docket

WHAT WE COVER:

  • Liability Litigation
    • Baltimore Lawsuit
    • California Climate Lawsuits
    • Colorado Lawsuit
    • Mass. v. Exxon
    • New York City Lawsuit
    • Rhode Island Lawsuit
    • Other Suits
  • Access to Courts
    • Liability Waivers
    • State Legislation
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe

Powered by Genesis

You are here: Home / Liability Litigation / Exxon Faces Another Shareholder Climate Lawsuit
Exxon Faces Another Shareholder Climate Lawsuit

Exxon Faces Another Shareholder Climate Lawsuit

May 7, 2019 Filed Under: Exxon Climate Investigation, Liability Litigation

print

By Dana Drugmand

An ExxonMobil shareholder has filed a lawsuit against the oil giant and some of its executives alleging they misled investors by understating how much risk climate change poses to the company’s assets.

Sarah Von Colditz filed the suit Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. Defendants include current and former Exxon executives and board members, including current chief executive Darren Woods and his predecessor, Rex Tillerson. The complaint accuses the company and executives of violating federal securities law, breaching fiduciary duties and wasting corporate assets.

Exxon is already facing two lawsuits over the company’s alleged misrepresentation of asset values to investors. The state of New York filed a lawsuit in October following a three-year investigation that showed Exxon had used two different sets of numbers to calculate climate risk—one disclosed publicly while the other was used internally. The public numbers indicated that Exxon was using higher costs of potential greenhouse gas regulations, or proxy costs, for internal planning than it was using in its business decisions.

Von Colditz cited this alleged misrepresentation in her complaint. “Exxon’s failure to employ carbon proxy cost policies that actually corresponded to its public statements violated generally accepted accounting principles,” the complaint said.

The complaint also says that Exxon’s behavior and resulting litigation has damaged the company’s credibility and reputation. It calls for stronger oversight of the company’s proxy cost and climate risk considerations.

Another shareholder climate suit against Exxon is moving forward, also in the Northern District of Texas. Exxon recently requested the court deny class certification to that suit, filed as a class action by the Greater Pennsylvania Carpenters Pension Fund.

Exxon has also been opposing efforts by investors to push the company to deal more transparently with climate issues. The Securities and Exchange Commission allowed Exxon to block a proposal requesting it set targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The New York State Common Retirement Fund and the Church of England submitted that proposal for consideration to be included in the materials that shareholders will vote on at the upcoming annual meeting. On Friday, the two institutions filed a notice indicating they would vote against re-election of current Exxon board members and would vote in favor of establishing an independent board chairman.

“The Fund and the Church Commissioners believe that ExxonMobil’s inadequate responses to climate change and to engagement with Climate Action 100+ participants reflect in significant part a board that is not functioning effectively in the absence of an Independent Chairman,” the proposal says. Climate Action 100+ is an investor initiative that works to push the largest corporate emitters to curb emissions and strengthen climate-related financial disclosures.

The notice also said Exxon’s intransigence stands in contrast to other oil majors, such as Shell, that have agreed to set emissions reduction targets.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: Exxon Climate Investigation, Liability Litigation

Don't Miss a story
Subscribe 
We promise not to spam you. Unsubscribe at any time.
Invalid email address
Thanks for subscribing! Please check your email for further instructions.

Trackbacks

  1. Climate proposals fail at Exxon, Chevron shareholder meetings says:
    May 29, 2019 at 3:41 pm

    […] is facing two lawsuits from shareholders over its alleged misrepresentation of asset values to investors. New York also filed suit against the oil giant, […]

  2. Two Texas shareholder climate suits vs. Exxon get consolidated says:
    August 8, 2019 at 12:28 pm

    […] District Judge Ed Kinkeade on Tuesday ordered the cases, Von Colditz v. Woods, et al, and Montini v. Woods et al, be consolidated into a single action. Cases are often consolidated to […]

  3. FRT's Fast Five: Week ending May 10, 2019 | FRT Services says:
    August 27, 2019 at 1:57 pm

    […] 2. Exxon Faces Another Shareholder Climate Lawsuit […]

  4. Human Rights Leaders Unveil New Climate Declaration says:
    September 19, 2019 at 1:50 pm

    […] is already facing several lawsuits from investors, as well as from the State of New York over its alleged misrepresentation of climate risk. Trial in […]

  5. ExxonMobil Did Not Mislead Shareholders About Climate Risks, Rules New York Court – iftttwall says:
    December 10, 2019 at 3:06 pm

    […] lawsuit against the company. Similar shareholder fraud lawsuits have been filed in Massachusetts, Texas, and New […]

  6. ExxonMobil Did Not Mislead Shareholders About Climate Risks, Rules New York Court - G20 Intel says:
    December 10, 2019 at 3:14 pm

    […] lawsuit against the company. Similar shareholder fraud lawsuits have been filed in Massachusetts, Texas, and New […]

  7. ExxonMobil Did Not Mislead Shareholders About Climate Risks, Rules New York Court – ALibertarian.org says:
    December 10, 2019 at 3:28 pm

    […] lawsuit against the company. Similar shareholder fraud lawsuits have been filed in Massachusetts, Texas, and New […]

  8. ExxonMobil Did Not Mislead Shareholders About Climate Risks, Rules New York Court | Libertarian Party of Alabama Unofficial says:
    December 10, 2019 at 4:04 pm

    […] lawsuit against the company. Similar shareholder fraud lawsuits have been filed in Massachusetts, Texas, and New […]

  9. Exxon Calls Shareholder Climate Lawsuit 'Without Merit,' Seeks Dismissal - The Climate Docket says:
    August 13, 2020 at 11:11 am

    […] to protect their investments and the company from the risks of climate change. Two similar cases Von Colditz v. Woods, et al, and Montini v. Woods, et al, were consolidated into this single action by a federal court judge in […]

  10. Investors: Exxon's 'Self Investigation' Shouldn't Sink Their Lawsuit - The Climate Docket says:
    September 8, 2020 at 8:43 pm

    […] court Judge Ed Kinkeade is presiding over several suits filed by individual shareholders, including Von Colditz v. Woods, et al and Montini v. Woods, et al which he consolidated last year, and a recently filed suit, Walker v. […]

Don't Miss a story
Subscribe 
We promise not to spam you. Unsubscribe at any time.
Invalid email address
Thanks for subscribing! Please check your email for further instructions.

Latest News

Justice Dept. to Argue on Side of Oil Companies in Supreme Court Hearing

By Karen Savage The acting solicitor general will be allowed time to argue in support of ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, BP and nearly two dozen other companies next week during oral arguments before … [Read More...]

Recent Posts

  • Colorado Judge Rejects Oil Companies’ Attempt to Move Climate Case
  • Biden’s DOJ Could Help Swing Momentum Around Climate Cases
  • Supreme Court Questions Oil Companies’ Tactics to Shake Climate Cases
  • Will Amy Coney Barrett, Whose Father Was a Shell Attorney for Decades, Recuse from Climate Suit?

Most Popular

  • BP Accused of 'Greenwashing' and Deceiving Public With Renewable Energy Ads
  • Judge Agrees to Divest from Exxon Before New York's Climate Fraud Case
  • Youth Climate Case in Washington State Dismissed by King County Judge
  • Battling for Big Oil: Manufacturing Trade Group Leads Assault on Climate Suits
  • What Oil Companies Knew About Climate Change and When: A Timeline

Categories

  • Access to Courts
  • Baltimore Lawsuit
  • California Climate Lawsuits
  • Charleston, S.C. Lawsuit
  • Colorado Lawsuit
  • Connecticut Lawsuit
  • Delaware Lawsuit
  • Exxon Climate Investigation
  • Featured
  • Hoboken Lawsuit
  • International
  • Latest News
  • Liability Litigation
  • Liability Waivers
  • Mass. v. Exxon
  • Minnesota Lawsuit
  • New York City Lawsuit
  • Other Suits
  • Politics
  • Rhode Island Lawsuit
  • State Legislation
  • Uncategorized
  • Washington DC Lawsuit

Follow us

  • View climatedocket’s profile on Facebook
  • View climatedocket’s profile on Twitter

RSS

RSS Feed RSS - Posts

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.