backKing & Spalding served as lead trial counsel to Exxon Mobil Corporation (“Exxon”) and three of its former senior executives in a decade-long securities class action with alleged damages of approximately $3 billion. The lawsuit, filed in 2016, included allegations that Exxon misled investors about the profitability of its Kearl oil sands project in Canada and the value of certain dry gas assets in the Rocky Mountains. Since the beginning of the century, very few securities class actions have been tried to jury verdict, even fewer with billions at stake.
On May 14, 2026, after an almost three-week trial, a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas returned a complete defense verdict, clearing Exxon and these executives of all allegations.
The King & Spalding team was led by Tom Melsheimer and included Emily Wilkinson, Austin Saathoff, and Taylor Hinojosa.