A lawsuit Exxon Mobil brought to stop an investor from making climate-related proposals was dismissed, closing what some had seen as a potential legal avenue for companies to take on shareholder activism.
After investment firm Arjuna Capital promised to never again hit Exxon with a greenhouse gas-related resolution, the court couldn’t weigh in further, U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman said in a decision released after a hearing Monday in Fort Worth, Texas. Courts can’t weigh in on a legal question without a live controversy in play, Pittman said, dismissing the case as moot.
Pittman’s decision ends the lawsuit, brought by Exxon in January, without a ruling on the law on shareholder proposals, which in recent years have steadily risen in number. Many come from investors with small stakes who want to push companies on hot-button cultural and environmental issues.
