California Attorney General Rob Bonta has expressed approval following a decision by the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The court ruled in favor of the California Department of Justice's (DOJ) motion to remand its lawsuit against ExxonMobil back to state court.
In his statement, Attorney General Bonta said, "ExxonMobil has been deceiving the public to convince us that plastic recycling could solve the plastic waste and pollution crisis when they knew this wasn’t possible. We are pleased with the Court’s decision to remand our plastic deception case against ExxonMobil to state court where it rightfully belongs. At the California Department of Justice, we stand ready to litigate this case, which directly affects California’s laws and its residents, and hold ExxonMobil fully accountable for its role in actively creating and exacerbating the plastic pollution crisis through its campaign of deception."
The background of this legal battle dates back to 2022 when an investigation was launched by the Attorney General into the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries. This probe aimed to uncover their roles in contributing to global plastic waste and pollution. As part of this effort, investigative subpoenas were issued to ExxonMobil and related industry groups, seeking information about their alleged deceptive practices.
The investigation led to a lawsuit filed against ExxonMobil in San Francisco County Superior Court last year. However, on November 1, 2024, ExxonMobil attempted to move the case to federal court by filing a notice of removal. In response, on December 9, 2024, the DOJ filed a motion requesting that the case be returned to state court.
The recent ruling by the District Court granted this motion from the DOJ, effectively moving the case back under state jurisdiction.
A copy of the ruling is available for public access.