Exxon Case Dismissal Leaves Path for More Suits to Toss ESG Bids

A federal judge’s decision to dismiss an Exxon Mobil Corp. lawsuit against activist investors preserves the option for other companies to pursue the same novel route to keep environmental, social and governance-related shareholder proposals off annual meeting ballots.

A Texas federal judge tossed the lawsuit on Monday that sought to stop shareholder activist Arjuna Capital from pressing the oil giant to speed up its greenhouse gas emissions reductions.

The lawsuit prompted Arjuna to drop the climate proposal before Exxon’s annual meeting in May. The oil giant had remained concerned that the shareholders could resubmit a substantially similar proposal in the ...