02:27 PM EDT, 05/22/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Exxon Mobil's ( XOM ) lawsuit seeking a declaratory judgement that activist group Arjuna Capital's 2024 emissions-reduction proposal is excludable may proceed, a federal judge in Texas ruled Wednesday.

The judge ruled in favor of Exxon even though Arjuna withdrew its proposal and submitted a letter stating it would never refile it after the oil giant filed suit in January.

"As worded, Arjuna's letter allows [it] to take the 2024 Proposal, add an Oxford comma here, shorten a sentence there, and submit the results anew for Exxon's shareholders," US District Judge Mark Pittman said in his order. "If that's all it takes to circumvent the doctrine, voluntary-cessation precedents are useless."

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