New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is investigating Exxon Mobil after allegations that the company funded misinformation about climate change.
Schneiderman is asking for financial records and emails in order to find out if Exxon lied about the link between hydrocarbons and climate change. Under New York law a company can be prosecuted for lying to investors even if the deceit was unintentional.
"It's much easier for the attorney general to be successful, and if they are successful with one company, it could be like a domino effect and be successful with many others," said Leslie Garfield, a law professor at Pace University.
Garfield says other states could join New York for a settlement possibly similar to the one that cost tobacco companies cost tens of billions of dollars. Exxon denies suppressing climate change research and says it did disclose the risk to its business.
