Exxon Mobil Corp. suffered another legal defeat in its attempt to dodge state investigations into whether the company's public comments about climate change misled investors for years.
Massachusetts' top court on Friday affirmed a judge's decision that Exxon must hand over documents dating back to 1976 to Attorney General Maura Healey. The court also agreed that Exxon's 300 Mobil-branded franchise service stations in the state give Healey jurisdiction over the Texas-based company.
Weighing in on the overall environmental threat at the heart of the dispute, the court wrote that Healey's investigation concerns climate change "caused by man-made greenhouse gas emissions _ a distinctly modern threat that grows more serious with time, and the effects of which are already being felt in Massachusetts."
In a conference call with reporters Friday, Healey said the ruling should put an end to Exxon's "scorched-earth campaign" to block investigations. "For two years now, Exxon has been fighting us at every turn while we are just seeking to do our job."
