san francisco — A federal judge in Texas has ruled that ExxonMobil can file a defamation lawsuit against the California attorney general over comments about the company’s plastic recycling efforts.
U.S. District Judge Michael J. Troncal in the Eastern District of Texas said in a ruling earlier this month that California Attorney General Rob Bonta cannot claim formal immunity in connection with several statements he made, including one in a campaign email sent to Texans.
Bonta filed a lawsuit against Exxon in September 2024, saying that… The oil giants encouraged consumers To purchase plastic products with a promise to recycle the products. He said that less than 5% of plastic is recycled into another plastic product, and that the recycling processes promoted by Exxon are not working. Exxon said the problem lies in California’s recycling system.
Exxon later sued Bonta in his individual capacity and environmental groups for defamation, saying the comments harmed current and future business contracts. The lawsuit was filed in Texas, near her main place of work.
Truncal dismissed the lawsuit against the environmental groups but allowed it to proceed against Ponta.
The judge pointed to an email Bonta’s campaign sent to Texans saying that only 5% is recycled and the rest ends up in the environment and in our bodies: “ExxonMobil knew, and ExxonMobil lied.” Bonta, a Democrat, said he was simply updating email recipients on his office’s activities.
But Troncal said the campaign contribution link in the email turned the communication into campaign activity not protected by immunity in Bonta’s official capacity as attorney general.
“Here, the request for contribution betrays the true nature of the email: campaign promotion. Election campaigning is not within Bonta’s scope of work,” the judge wrote.
Bonta’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“The campaign of lies designed to derail our advanced recycling business must stop,” ExxonMobil said in a statement.