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Cases / Law, regulation and treaties · United States · 2025

ExxonMobil sues California attorney general and four green groups for defamation

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
What the record lacks: 2 none on record · 1 not disclosed · 1 insufficient · 1 not measured · 1 unclear See the gaps

ExxonMobil filed a defamation suit in Texas in January 2025 against California Attorney General Bonta, four environmental groups and the Intergenerational Environment Justice Fund. Exxon linked the fund to Andrew Forrest's Minderoo Foundation, which rejects that account.

What?
ExxonMobil filed a defamation suit in Texas against California's attorney general, four environmental groups and IEJF in January 2025. Packaging Insights
Where?
Filed in Texas against defendants in California Packaging Insights
When?
January 2025 Packaging Insights
Who?
Gained
None on record
Lost
None on record
Harmed
  • Four environmental groups and IEJF — named as defendants in Exxon's defamation suit Packaging Insights
Why?
Exxon alleged that the fund was linked to Andrew Forrest's foundation and that Forrest's company Fortescue is its rival (The Nightly, 8 January 2025). The Nightly
How?
Exxon alleges the plaintiffs were found through a law firm; the defendants reject Exxon's description of their relationship. The Nightly
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

In January 2025 ExxonMobil filed a defamation suit in Texas against California Attorney General Bonta, four environmental groups and the Intergenerational Environment Justice Fund (IEJF), according to Packaging Insights.

Exxon alleged that IEJF was tied to Andrew Forrest's Minderoo Foundation, that it found its plaintiffs through a law firm, and that Forrest's company Fortescue is an Exxon rival (The Nightly, 8 January 2025).

Forrest described the suit as coming from the oil and gas industry's playbook, and IEJF and Minderoo rejected Exxon's account of their relationship (The Nightly, 8 January 2025).

Packaging Insights reported the suit as a retaliatory lawsuit over recycling defamation.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    1. 2025-01–Outcome not on record
      ExxonMobil v. Bonta and others (defamation suit)
      Texas court (not named in the sources reviewed) · Civil · ExxonMobil → California Attorney General Bonta, four environmental groups and IEJF

      Filed in January 2025. The sources reviewed do not confirm any later ruling. Packaging Insights

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Court

    • Unclear ExxonMobil v. Bonta and others (defamation suit): outcome not on record.

    Record

    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: in February 2026 a judge dismissed the claims against the environmental groups for lack of jurisdiction and kept the claims against Bonta; three of 14 statements were reported as reviewable (Insurance Journal, Reuters).
    • Not disclosed Damages sought were not disclosed in the sources reviewed.
    • None on record A foreign-agent registry entry for an IEJF payment is listed for this matter, but the registry is not described in the sources reviewed.
    • None on record The sources reviewed do not say which statements are at issue.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers

    Press and investigations

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
    Terms used on this page

    Carbon and conservation finance

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    An organisation that writes the rules for carbon credits, approves projects, and records when credits are issued and retired. Such bodies typically charge fees per credit.
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