WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A federal judge for the Northern District of Texas dismissed a lawsuit by Exxon Mobil against activist investor Arjuna Capital over a shareholder proposal asking the oil and gas company to cut carbon emissions.
'Arjuna has eliminated any case or controversy between the Parties here, Exxon's claim is moot and must be dismissed without prejudice,' U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman wrote in his ruling.
The Texas-based company sued Arjuna Capital and another investor, Follow This, in January asking them to stop from submitting a climate proposal at the company's annual shareholder meeting.
According to Exxon's filing, the proposal called on the company to accelerate plans to reduce greenhouse emissions 'and to summarize new plans, targets and timetables.'
'Defendants' overarching objective is to force Exxon Mobil to change the nature of its ordinary business or to go out of business entirely,' the company argued, adding that the proposal 'does not seek to improve ExxonMobil's economic performance or create shareholder value.'
The two investors withdrew the proposal after getting sued by Exxon. However, the company went forward with the lawsuit.
In May, the judge dismissed Follow This from the lawsuit due to jurisdiction issues as it is based in the Netherlands, but decided to move forward with the case against Arjuna Capital.
Meanwhile, Arjuna requested for dismissal of Exxon's lawsuit, which was denied by Judge Pittman 'because the proposal's withdrawal didn't foreclose the same conduct moving forward.'
Later, the activist investor made an 'unconditional and irrevocable' pledge to not submit a similar proposal against Exxon in the future.
'Arjuna was caught between a rock and a hard place,' Pittman wrote. 'Arjuna is a boutique wealth management firm with offices in North Carolina and Massachusetts. Exxon is one of the largest multinational conglomerates on the planet.
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