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People of the State of New York v. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, No. 451962/2016
Dear Justice Ostrager:
On August 2, 2018, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission
(the "SEC") notified Exxon Mobil Corporation ("ExxonMobil") by letter that it had
concluded its investigation of the Company's climate change disclosures, impairments, and
reserves. That letter, anched as Exhibit A, indicated that the SEC does not intend to
recommend an enforcement action against ExxonMobil.
The SEC initiated its confidential investigation in January 2016. In the course of
the investigation, ExxonMobil provided the SEC with copies of the more than 4 million
pages of decümcñts that have been produced to the Office of the New York Attorney
General ("OAG"). The SEC closed the investigation after a comprehensive review of this
record.
Closure of the SEC investigation accords with previous determinations made by
the agency about ExxonMobil's disclosures. For example, in a letter dated April 10, 2017,
the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance ("Corporation Finance") approved
ExxonMobil's 2015 Form 10-K, taking no issue with the reserves and impairment
diselesures therein. (See Exhibit B.) Similarly, in a letter dated March 23, 2018,
Corporation Finance concluded that ExxonMobil had sufficiently addressed shareholder
questions about how the Company "could adapt its business model to align with a
decarbonizingeconomy."
(See Exhibit C at 2.)
PA U L , W E I S S , R I F K I N D , W HA R T O N & GA R R I S O N L L P
Hon. Barry R. Ostrager 2
Ever since the SEC's investigation was leaked to the press in September 2016,
OAG has repeatedly attempted to use the investigation's existence to justify itsown.1
In
this proceeding, OAG likewise has sought to bolster its investigation by seeking documcñts
produced to the SEC "relating to impairment evaluations, reserves calculations, and climate
change."Dkt. 335 at 1. The now closed SEC probe, however, lends no legitimacy to
OAG's inquiry.
Respectfully submitted,
/s/ Daniel J. Toal
Daniel J. Toal
cc: Manisha Sheth, Esq. Theodore V. Wells, Jr., Esq.
John Oleske, Esq. Michele Hirshman, Esq.
Mandy DeRoche, Esq. Justin Anderson, Esq.
Jc-ñathañ Zweig, Esq. Nora Ahmed, Esq.
Patrick Conlon, Esq.
See, e.g., Mem. of Law in Support of the N.Y. Att'y Gen.'s Mot. to Dismiss the Action Based on Certain
Threshold Defenses, at 7, Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Schñdderman et al., No. 17-CV-2301 (VEC) (SN)
(S.D.N.Y. May 19, 2017) (ECF No. 220) ("The NYOAG is not alone in investigating the accuracy of
Exxon's fmancial disclosures touching on climate-change issues. So too is the Securities and Exchange
Commission, according to published reports."); Mem. of Law in Support of the N.Y. Att'y Gen.'s Mot.
to Quash Discovery and For a Protective Order, at 17 n.11, Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Schñëide,¬ñañ et al.,
No. 4:16-cv-00469-K (N.D. Tex. Dec. 5, 2015) (ECF No. 136) ("The NYOAG is hardly alone in its
beliefs: the federal Securitics and Exchange Cammiccion reportedly also has lamched an anslegens
investigation into Exxon's accounting practices.").
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