FORT WORTH - On Thursday, the Second Court of Appeals issued a mandate on its earlier judgment denying ExxonMobil’s Rule 202 petition.
Back in February, the Texas Supreme Court denied Exxon’s petition for review, halting the oil giant’s legal effort to pull back the curtain on the authors of climate change litigation.
Exxon’s petition for review argued that several California municipalities are attempting to chill speech and commandeer public policy with climate change lawsuits, subjecting them to personal jurisdiction in Texas courts.
The case stems from a petition Exxon filed in Tarrant County District Court in response to climate change litigation, seeking pre-suit discovery for a potential lawsuit against California municipalities and officials.
Exxon’s case against the California municipalities ended up in the Second Court of Appeals after a Texas judge found the cities and counties were hypocritical in suing Exxon.
The municipalities had claimed doom to their infrastructures will be caused by rising sea levels, but when issuing bond offers to potential investors, they had neglected to mention the alleged, near-certain destruction.
The Second Court found that was not enough to keep the litigation in Texas, despite feeling an impulse to protect the energy sector.