Australian mining magnate Andrew Forrest has been accused as one of the orchestrators of smear campaigns against U.S. oil giant ExxonMobil in a defamation lawsuit.
On Jan. 6, ExxonMobil filed a court case against California Attorney General Rob Bonta and several environmental groups at a federal court in Texas, accusing them of slandering the company’s plastic recycling ventures.
In the new lawsuit, ExxonMobil alleged that the Intergenerational Environment Justice Fund (IEJF), a non-profit organisation controlled by Forrest, had enlisted a law firm called Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP, to work with Bonta to smear the company.
It claimed that the law firm had received hundreds of thousands of dollars of funding from the IEJF.
It also alleged that the IEJF was a subsidiary of Forrest’s charity organisation, Minderoo.
“Together, Bonta and the U.S. Proxies—the former for political gain and the latter pawns for the foreign interests—have engaged in a deliberate smear campaign against ExxonMobil, falsely claiming that ExxonMobil’s effective and innovative advanced recycling technology is a ‘false promise’ and ‘not based on truth,’” ExxonMobil said in the lawsuit.
ExxonMobil suggested Forrest’s motive for the smear campaigns, pointing out that he is the largest shareholder in Fortescue, a rival in low-carbon solutions and energy transition efforts which had faced setbacks in the U.S. market.
“Having failed to successfully compete against ExxonMobil in the marketplace, Fortescue has, on information and belief, orchestrated a campaign to compete by turning the wheels of American justice to the company’s self-interested purposes,” the lawsuit said.
“More specifically, Fortescue funds Minderoo, which owns and controls the IEJF, which hired an American law firm to bring claims against ExxonMobil on behalf of the U.S. Proxies.”
Forrest’s Response
Following the lawsuit’s launch, Forrest said he was not surprised by ExxonMobil’s action and that the lawsuit was a typical example of “the oil and gas industry playbook.”“I am personally delighted Exxon has walked themselves into the court and opened themselves up to cross-examination,” he said in a statement.
“The fossil fuel industry is getting increasingly desperate at maintaining its toxic grip on society. Their only priority is to maximise their profits and produce as much oil and gas as possible.”
A Minderoo spokesperson rejected ExxonMobil’s accusation of the relationship between the charity and the IEJF.
A Fortescue spokesperson also denied the alleged role of the company in the ligation.
“Fortescue rejects the assertions that ExxonMobil has made against Fortescue in the complaint, including the assertions that the Company has orchestrated litigation against Exxon to gain a competitive advantage,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the California Department of Justice denounced ExxonMobil’s lawsuit.
“This is another attempt from ExxonMobil to deflect attention from its own unlawful deception, the spokesperson said.
“The Attorney General is proud to advance his lawsuit against ExxonMobil and looks forward to vigorously litigating this case in court.”
