Exxon Mobil Corp. has filed a federal defamation lawsuit against California Attorney General Rob Bonta and several environmental groups. This legal action comes in response to a previous lawsuit by Bonta, accusing the oil and gas giant of deceiving the public for over 50 years by falsely claiming that the plastics it produced would be recycled.
The lawsuit, filed in the Eastern District of California, alleges that Bonta, along with the Sierra Club, San Francisco Baykeeper, Heal the Bay, and the Surfrider Foundation, conspired to defame Exxon Mobil by questioning the effectiveness of its plastic recycling technology. Exxon Mobil claims that these statements were part of a deliberate smear campaign aimed at damaging its reputation.
