New York's top lawyer suffered a major defeat yesterday when a state court decided that prosecutors for Attorney General Letitia James (D) did not present enough evidence that Exxon Mobil Corp. misled investors about the threat of climate change to the oil giant's operations.

But state Supreme Court Justice Barry Ostrager's ruling in People of the State of New York v. Exxon isn't likely to chill other battles over the financial risks of climate change, including the lawsuit Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey (D) launched against Exxon during the thick of the Empire State's three-week trial (Greenwire, Dec. 10).

Though Massachusetts, like New York, argues that Exxon misled shareholders, the Bay State also introduced claims of consumer fraud — a noteworthy distinction, Healey's office said.

"Our office has a separate case against Exxon in Massachusetts," said Chloe Gotsis, a spokeswoman for Healey.

"We were the first state to challenge Exxon's ongoing campaign to mislead Massachusetts consumers and investors about the climate dangers caused by its fossil fuel products, and we will continue our work to hold the company accountable for its misrepresentations."...

While some experts saw New York's widely watched case as a watershed moment for climate accountability, the case lived and died on technical questions over securities law...

But even if the outcome of New York's challenge doesn't affect industry practices, other legal experts say the case highlighted the gap between what oil companies are doing about climate risk and what investors think companies are doing.