The New York Supreme Court ordered ExxonMobil Corp. and its outside auditor, PwC LLP, to comply with a subpoena the state attorney general’s office issued on Aug. 19 for documents related to the financial services firm’s work for the multinational oil company.
Judge Barry R. Ostrager said in his Oct. 26 decision that a Texas law regarding accountant-client privilege, which ExxonMobil had cited, did not apply in this case. The company subsequently said that it disagrees with the ruling and plans to appeal.
New York Atty. Gen. Eric T. Schneiderman (D) said in a subpoena his office issued to ExxonMobil on Nov. 15, 2015, that the company may have violated the state’s Martin Act with misleading public disclosures related to climate change. The Aug. 19 subpoena sought related documents from PwC.
“It is undisputed that [ExxonMobil] has produced at least 1 million documents to the NYAG pursuant to [the subpoenas],” Ostrager said in his decision.
Contact Nick Snow at [email protected].
NICK SNOW covered oil and gas in Washington for more than 30 years. He worked in several capacities for The Oil Daily and was founding editor of Petroleum Finance Week before joining OGJ as its Washington correspondent in September 2005 and becoming its full-time Washington editor in October 2007. He retired from OGJ in January 2020.
