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New York’s Attorney General failed to prove that Exxon mislead shareholders over the true cost of climate change, a judge ruled Tuesday, ending the oil giant’s multiyear battle against the state.
“The Office of the Attorney General failed to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that ExxonMobil made any material misstatements or omissions about its practices and procedures that misled any reasonable investor,” Judge Barry Ostrager of the trial-level state Supreme Court wrote in his ruling.
[...]
The case was dismissed “with prejudice,” which means that “this case cannot be tried again on these facts in New York,” Columbia University Law Professor John Coffee said. He added that it could go to New York State Appellate Court and a federal case would be “very unlikely” and “ill-fated.”
What was particularly pernicious about the original case was that it happened merely because Exxon had some researchers look into the matter decades ago. There was no illegal or fraudulent activity in the first place. It didn't matter to the plaintiff, the Office of the Attorney General of New York that the research in question was inconclusive.
This is not the first time that merely looking for problems from a business's activities or products generates liability. But it would establish a precedent that the act of merely looking, even if one doesn't find anything, creates liability.
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Thursday December 12 2019, @06:35PM (4 children)
Did they terminate the drunken captain's command?
I always wondered, is it better for the planet to burn the oil or to spill it? What do you think? I mean, everybody still gets paid, so what's the big deal?
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 2) by Osamabobama on Friday December 13 2019, @12:37AM (3 children)
I think it's better to burn it. Long-chain hydrocarbons have various toxic effects such that you don't want to be near them. Burning them breaks them down into smaller molecules, which are generally more friendly to life. (see also the catalytic converter)
Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 13 2019, @01:36AM (2 children)
Or you ignore the badly set up choices and go with: leave it in the ground, or turn it into industrial products. Thst might involve some amount of byproduct to burn, but burning should be the last option. Spilling isn't an option, it is an accident.
(Score: 0, Offtopic) by khallow on Friday December 13 2019, @03:38AM
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Friday December 13 2019, @05:12PM
Spilling isn't an option, it is an accident.
No, that would imply that it's unavoidable, most often it's negligence and corruption
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..