Exxon Mobil Corp. filed a lawsuit against California Attorney General Rob Bonta and several environmental groups, alleging that Bonta and the groups organized a defamation campaign against its plastic recycling efforts.
The lawsuit is a countersuit to a legal challenge filed by Bonta and environmental groups in September.
“In a staggering reversal and in a coordinated effort, Mr. Bonta, the Sierra Club, and a collection of erstwhile recycling enthusiasts are now attacking a Texas corporation for its advanced recycling operations—operations that are part of the solution to plastic waste, not the problem,” the countersuit reads. “Instead of coming alongside efforts to support a developing technology and an emerging business model designed to recycle otherwise difficult-to-recycle plastics, Defendants are repeatedly and publicly attacking ExxonMobil with false accusations of being a ‘liar’ and declarations that advanced recycling is a ‘myth’ and a ‘sham.’”
“Together, Bonta and the US Proxies—the former for political gain and the latter pawns for the Foreign Interests—have engaged in a deliberate smear campaign against ExxonMobil, falsely claiming that ExxonMobil’s effective and innovative advanced recycling technology is a ‘false promise’ and ‘not based on truth,'” the suit alleges.
Sierra Club spokesperson Jonathon Berman said in response to the countersuit, “Exxon is clearly confused about the difference between defamation and accountability. Berman called the lawsuit a “shameless attempt at intimidation by a multibillion dollar polluter corporation that covered up its climate change denial for decades.”
“The Sierra Club will not sit back as ExxonMobil attempts to use their billions to bully those standing up for the health of working families,” he stated.
In a statement to Reuters, spokesperson for the California Department of Justice said the lawsuit is “another attempt from ExxonMobil to deflect attention from its own unlawful deception. The Attorney General is proud to advance his lawsuit against ExxonMobil and looks forward to vigorously litigating this case in court.”
In the September lawsuit against Exxon Mobile, Bonta alleged the company “has been deceiving Californians for half a century through misleading public statements and slick marketing promising that recycling would address the ever-increasing amount of plastic waste ExxonMobil produces,” according to a press release.