A federal judge has tossed Exxon Mobil’s defamation claims against environmental groups that have rebuked the company’s recycling program — while advancing a similar case the oil major launched against California’s attorney general.
In dismissing Exxon’s argument that environmental groups — with the backing of an Australian billionaire — conspired in a “smear campaign” against the company, Judge Michael Truncale of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas found that his court did not have personal jurisdiction over the green groups.
The judge ruled that he does, however, have jurisdiction over claims made by California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D), because he sent potentially defamatory comments in a fundraising email that reached some Texas residents.
“If Bonta wants to fundraise in Texas, he can answer to courts in Texas,” Truncale, a Trump appointee, wrote in his order, issued earlier this month.
