This is supposed to be very sinister
(Bloomberg) As climate-change lawsuits against the oil industry mount, Exxon Mobil Corp. is taking a bare-knuckle approach rarely seen in legal disputes: It’s going after the lawyers who are suing it.
The company has targeted at least 30 people and organizations, including the attorneys general of New York and Massachusetts, hitting them with suits, threats of suits or demands for sworn depositions. The company claims the lawyers, public officials and environmental activists are “conspiring†against it in a coordinated legal and public relations campaign.
Exxon has even given that campaign a vaguely sinister-sounding name: “The La Jolla playbook.†According to the company, about two dozen people hatched a strategy against it at a meeting six years ago in an oceanfront cottage in La Jolla, Calif.
Sinister!
“It’s an aggressive move,†said Howard Erichson, an expert in complex litigation and a professor at Fordham University School of Law in New York. “Does Exxon really need these depositions or is Exxon seeking the depositions to harass mayors and city attorneys into dropping their lawsuits?â€
An interesting point of view. Could Exxon be suing back as harassment against all those who are harassing Exxon with lawsuits and demands for documents? Really, what Warmists are upset about is that Exxon would dare fight back.
Experts say Exxon’s combative strategy — an extraordinary gambit to turn the tables — is a clear sign of what’s at stake for the fossil-fuel industry. So far, New York City and eight California cities and counties, including San Francisco and Oakland, have sued Exxon and other oil and gas companies. They allege that oil companies denied findings of climate-change scientists despite knowing that the use of fossil fuels posed “grave risk†to the planet.
See? It’s combative to fight back against those who are combative against Exxon (yet, those some Warmists refuse to give up their own use of fossil fuels. Has anyone seen those cities, jurisdictions, and states stop using fossil fuels?)
Plaintiff lawyers and legal experts contend the oil giant’s tactics are meant to intimidate while shifting the spotlight away from claims of environmental damage. And they say there’s nothing improper with lawyers discussing legal strategies together.
“It’s crazy that people are subpoenaed for attending a meeting,” said Sharon Eubanks, a lawyer who was at the La Jolla gathering. “It’s sort of like a big scare tactic: reframe the debate, use it as a diversionary tactic and scare the heck out of everybody.”
The projection is amazing. Cities and AGs like New York’s Eric Schneiderman have used their powers to demand all sorts of crazy documents, including lists of people and organizations that have had contact with Exxon. It was abusive. A witch hunt.
But, Exxon is a big company, with deep pockets and excellent lawyers on staff. And if they get the other fossil fuels companies involved, it could be tough for cities and states, and cost them a lot of money.
