A federal judge has denied ExxonMobil Corp.'s attempt to move California Attorney General Rob Bonta's plastics pollution lawsuit against the oil giant out of state court and into federal court.
U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg Feb. 24 ruled against ExxonMobil, describing two of the plastic resin maker's assertions for shifting the case to federal court as "misguided, to say the least" and verging on "fanciful."
ExxonMobil on Nov. 1 sued in federal court in San Francisco, arguing that Bonta's September lawsuit alleging that the company lied to the public about the effectiveness of plastics recycling more properly belonged in federal court.
ExxonMobil challenged Bonta's claims that the company is responsible for problems with recycling in California by noting that the state has dozens of laws to encourage plastics recycling, including a 1989 statute requiring cities to implement curbside recycling.
But Seeborg's 15-page ruling at times sharply rejected the company's arguments for moving the case, including that work ExxonMobil did in World War II developing synthetic rubber for the federal government gave rise to a "federal officer" claim that ExxonMobil was acting at the government's direction.
"This claim verges on the fanciful," Seeborg wrote. "Rubber is not the product at issue in the complaint — plastic is."
Seeborg wrote that ExxonMobil pointed to its work with the war effort in the 1940s, arguing in court that the company "ascended to industry leadership following its joint efforts with the government to exponentially growth the synthetic rubber industry during World War II."
But the judge said California's lawsuit alleges harms from plastics and said its work in World War II was not relevant.
"Putting the self-congratulations for winning the war to one side, this argument misses the boat entirely," Seeborg wrote. "Plaintiffs [Bonta] allege Exxon promoted a deceptive marketing campaign to deceive the public about plastic. Whether Exxon's predecessors' past partnership with the United States military to produce a completely different substance (i.e., rubber) also contributed to pollution is completely tangential to the complaint."
ExxonMobil said it would defend its actions in court, including its claims around chemical, or advanced, recycling, that are a significant part of Bonta's lawsuit.
"We look forward to demonstrating the capabilities of advanced recycling and defending the company in court," the company said.
In a Feb. 24 statement Bonta praised the ruling and posted a link to it on his website.
"ExxonMobil has been deceiving the public to convince us that plastic recycling could solve the plastic waste and pollution crisis when they knew this wasn't possible," Bonta said. "We are pleased with the court's decision to remand our plastics deception case against ExxonMobil to state court where it rightfully belongs.
"At the California Department of Justice, we stand ready to litigate this case, which directly affects California's laws and its residents, and hold ExxonMobil fully accountable for its role in actively creating and exacerbating the plastic pollution crisis through its campaign of deception," he said.
Seeborg also rejected ExxonMobil's contentions that the case belongs in federal court because of a "federal enclave" argument, that pollution from plastics touch federal waterways and property in California.
"Exxon's argument is misguided, to say the least," Seeborg wrote. "Simply because plastic pollution touches on federal enclaves does not mean California's claims have their loci there; to the contrary, the claims concern the cultural messaging and corporate decision-making that Exxon allegedly engaged in when promoting the use of recycling as a cure-all to plastic waste."
The judge also rejected ExxonMobil's arguments that federal maritime law gave jurisdiction to federal courts.
Seeborg's decision came several weeks after a California state judge ruled against a plastics industry group in a similar case.
Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Richard Sueyoshi ruled Feb. 6 in favor of Bonta and against the Plastics Industry Association, in the association's attempt to block Bonta's subpoenas in his broader investigation of industry claims about plastics recycling.