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The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday upheld a $14.25M fine imposed against Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) over allegations of unlawful emissions at the company’s Baytown complex in Texas.
The court rejected Exxon’s (NYSE:XOM) request to overturn the civil penalty that a U.S. district court judge ordered in 2021, which was upheld in December 2024, in a lawsuit filed in 2010 by the Environment Texas Citizen Lobby and the Sierra Club that claimed the Baytown facility routinely exceeded limits under the Clean Air Act on emissions of harmful air pollutants, affecting the daily lives and health of people who live and work nearby.
On appeal to the Supreme Court, Exxon (XOM) argued the plaintiffs lacked legal standing to pursue the case and that the lower courts had adopted a novel standard to assess standing that the justices should reject.
The original $19.95M penalty against Exxon (XOM) was lowered in 2021 to $14.25M, still the largest penalty ever assessed in a citizen-initiated lawsuit enforcing protections against air pollution under the Clean Air Act.