ExxonMobil sued California Attorney General Rob Bonta and several environmental groups alleging tortious interference with its plastic recycling business.

Exxon Mobil Corp. has filed a federal defamation lawsuit against California Attorney General Rob Bonta and several environmental groups.

The oil giant ExxonMobil this week sued California Attorney General Rob Bonta, alleging that the state’s chief lawyer has been motivated by “foreign influence, personal ambition, and a murky source of financing rife with conflicting business interests.”

Exxon lawsuit accuses California's attorney general, the Sierra Club and others of defaming the oil giant with negative comments about plastic recycling.

The lawsuit, an unusual strategy for the oil giant, comes after California’s attorney general sued Exxon last year alleging it misled the public about plastics recycling.

In a retaliatory lawsuit, Exxon says claims against it are motivated by “sordid for-profit incentives and outright greed.”

This complaint was first surfaced by Law.com Radar, ALM's source for immediate alerting on just-filed cases in state and federal courts. Law.com Radar now offers state court coverage nationwide. Sign up today and be among the first to know about new suits in your region,

Exxon accused Rob Bonta, the Sierra Group and others of making “false accusations” about its advanced recycling process.

A major oil company has responded to California Attorney General Rob Bonta with a lawsuit alleging defamation after he accused them of misleading customers. Exxon Mobil sued Bonta on Monday, months after he sued the company “for allegedly engaging in a decades-long campaign of deception that caused and exacerbated the global plastics pollution crisis.

ExxonMobil sued California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday over claims he engaged in a smear campaign against the company and its recycling initiatives.