At first blush, this seems like rough justice to me.
Based on cynical assumptions, I'm guessing that the NY AG actually has an axe to grind about ExxonMobil's political/PR efforts regarding climate change, but couldn't pursue them because of First Amendment protections.
And so the AG is grasping at other legal straws within the same general topic area.
They knew that their product would mess with the climate and they not only hid this information, but actively lied to convince people of the opposite, all so that they could make more money. And they made an incomprehensible amount of money. This sure sounds like fraud to me, and people have gone to prison for far, far less. Madoff got 150 years in prison for fraud equal to just a couple years of Exxon’s profits.
Rough justice? Maybe for the victims. Exxon should feel very lucky if it stops at losing this lawsuit. Of course, this is the US, where real punishments are reserved for individuals, and large companies are effectively outside the law.
Lying to investors is a serious crime. What you're saying is that Exxon actually committed a much more serious set of bad acts -- acts that may be constitutionally protected -- and that "lying to investors" doesn't seem as serious when compared with Exxon's real bad acts. But that's insane. It's like saying that I shouldn't be prosecuted for arson if setting someone's house on fire also kills them.
Sorry, let me clarify. My impression from reading the article was that Exxon's communications to shareholders weren't materially lies in any relevant legal sense. I.e., that trying to prosecute them is at the very least a legal stretch, or at worst a case of malicious prosecution.
If I misunderstood the article or missing something crucial in it, I apologize.
I guess that will be up to the courts to decide. I'm guessing Exxon will argue strenuously that this is true, there will be more discovery to decide whether this is accurate, and (in a perfect world) the right thing will happen :)
Based on cynical assumptions, I'm guessing that the NY AG actually has an axe to grind about ExxonMobil's political/PR efforts regarding climate change, but couldn't pursue them because of First Amendment protections.
And so the AG is grasping at other legal straws within the same general topic area.