In January, ExxonMobil filed a lawsuit against Arjuna Capital, LLC and Follow This, the two proponents of a climate-related shareholder proposal submitted to Exxon, seeking a declaratory judgment that it may exclude their...more
On May 30, 23 Senators signed a letter to the Attorney General, calling on the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division to “use every tool” to investigate the oil industry for potential violations of the Sherman...more
The United States, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (“AGFC”), and Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment – Division of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) entered into a Consent Decree with ExxonMobil Pipeline Company, LLC...more
When we last checked in on the ExxonMobil litigation against Arjuna Capital, LLC and Follow This—in which Exxon sought a declaratory judgment that it may exclude the two defendants’ proposal from its 2024 annual meeting proxy...more
ESG stands for “environmental, social, and governance.” Though often overlooked, two recent cases — Spence v. American Airlines and Exxon v. Arjuna Capital, LLC — focus on G’s place in the ESG initialism. Here, we break...more
In the February edition of our Public Company Watch, we cover key issues impacting public companies, including Exxon Mobil filing a complaint seeking a declaratory judgment to exclude a shareholder proposal from Arjuna...more
During arguments on Wednesday in the most significant environmental dispute before the U.S. Supreme Court this year, the Court's conservative justices expressed skepticism over the Environmental Protection Agency's efforts to...more
You remember that, in January, ExxonMobil filed a lawsuit against Arjuna Capital, LLC and Follow This, two proponents of a climate-related shareholder proposal submitted to Exxon, seeking a declaratory judgment that it may...more
ExxonMobil has filed proceedings in the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas against two shareholders, alleging that proposals seeking an increased pace for reductions in emissions amount to “intrusion” into...more
ExxonMobil (“Exxon”) filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas on Sunday, January 21, 2024, seeking a declaratory judgment to exclude a shareholder proposal from its proxy statement...more
Over the past few years, activist investors have submitted a number of shareholder proposals to major fossil fuel companies concerning issues relating to climate change. Recently, two such investors submitted a proposal...more
Back in 2014, a few companies, facing shareholder proposals from the prolific shareholder-proposal activist, John Chevedden, and his associates, adopted a “direct-to-court” strategy, bypassing the standard SEC no-action...more
Welcome to the third edition of Shearman & Sterling’s Fifth Circuit Securities Litigation Quarterly. As public companies and financial institutions continue to migrate to Texas, our Texas-based securities litigation team...more
Macy’s has been ordered to pay $1.6 million for environmental violations across its 98 California stores to settle a lawsuit filed by district attorneys from 25 California counties and two city attorneys. Macy’s “illegally...more
In ExxonMobil Corporation vs. National Union Fire Insurance Company, the Texas Supreme Court recently held that ExxonMobil was an additional insured under an umbrella policy procured by its subcontractor. Additionally, the...more
Primary and excess insurance carriers and their counsel need to pay close attention to a new Texas Supreme Court case Exxon Mobil vs. National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and Starr Indemnity &...more
As you negotiate your master service agreements are you confident that you know how insurance choices might affect indemnity obligations? Me neither. That’s why I turn to my Gray Reed partner Darin Brooks and his insurance...more
Wagner v. Exxon Mobil Corporation is an example of the misfortune that can befall the purchaser who assumes the burden of comprehensive, one-sided indemnity obligations. We will disregard evidentiary and other issues in this...more
The principal contention in the tax refund case of Exxon v. United States was whether certain mineral related transactions between Exxon and the countries of Qatar and Malaysia were sales or leases. Originally Exxon treated...more
On October 7, 2022, OSHA announced that it had ordered ExxonMobil Corp. to immediately rehire two computational scientists who alleged that they were fired in retaliation for leaking to the media their concerns about improper...more
Standing is a major issue in nearly all environmental citizen suit cases. A split panel of the US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a district court’s award of a $14.25 million Clean Air Act (CAA) penalty against a...more
In the broader world of Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG), Environment, Health & Safety (EHS) compliance is only one threat to industry operators. Another is the growing use of proxy challenges and shareholder actions...more
The latest legal buzzword, ESG, represents the environmental, social and governance factors that many corporations are now required to consider and disclose alongside traditional financial information such as operating...more
Massachusetts highest court upheld a state trial court’s decision which allowed a closely watched climate-disclosure related challenge filed by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey against ExxonMobil (Exxon) to proceed...more