United States Court of Appeals For the Second Circuit

August Term 2019

Argued: February 18, 2020 Decided: March 15, 2022

No. 18-1170

EXXON MOBIL CORPORATION,

Plaintiff-Appellant,

v.

MAURA TRACY HEALEY, in her official capacity as ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MASSACHUSETTS, and LETITIA JAMES, in her official capacity as ATTORNEY GENERAL OF NEW YORK, *

Defendants-Appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York No. 17-cv-2301, Valerie Caproni, Judge.

Before: KEARSE, SULLIVAN, AND BIANCO, Circuit Judges.

*The Clerk of Court is respectfully directed to amend the caption as set forth above. Additionally, pursuant to Rule 43(c)(2) of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, Attorney General Letitia James is automatically substituted as a Defendant-Appellee for the former Attorney General of New York, Barbara D. Underwood. Plaintiff-Appellant Exxon Mobil Corporation appeals the dismissal of its complaint against the New York and Massachusetts Attorneys General, which alleged that the states’ investigations into Exxon’s purportedly deceptive speech regarding climate change were motivated by viewpoint discrimination and violated Exxon’s constitutional rights. During the pendency of this appeal, the New York Attorney General closed the New York investigation and commenced an enforcement action, which resolved in Exxon’s favor and is not being appealed by the state. Because these events have mooted Exxon’s claims against the New York Attorney General, we lack jurisdiction over those claims. As to Exxon’s claims against the Massachusetts Attorney General, Exxon could have pursued the relief it now seeks in an earlier Massachusetts state court proceeding arising from the same events that underlie the present suit; its claims against the Massachusetts Attorney General are thus barred under the doctrine of res judicata. We therefore dismiss the appeal as to the New York Attorney General and affirm the district court’s judgment as to the Massachusetts Attorney General.

DISMISSED IN PART AND AFFIRMED IN PART.

JUSTIN ANDERSON, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, Washington, District of Columbia (Theodore V. Wells, Jr., Daniel J. Toal, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, New York, New York; Patrick J. Conlon, Daniel E. Bolia, Exxon Mobil Corporation, Spring, Texas, on the brief), for Plaintiff-Appellant Exxon Mobil Corporation.

SETH SCHOFIELD, Assistant Attorney General (Richard A. Johnston, Melissa A. Hoffer, Christophe G. Courchesne, Amanda Morejon, Assistant Attorneys General, on the brief), for Maura T. Healey, Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Office of the Attorney General of Massachusetts, Boston, Massachusetts, for Defendant-Appellee Attorney General of Massachusetts.

2 ANISHA S. DASGUPTA, Deputy Solicitor General (Scott A. Eisman, Assistant Solicitor General, on the brief), for Letitia James,