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A federal court ruled that American Airlines was in violation of federal law for basing investment decisions regarding its employee retirement plan on Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) principles.
TheJanuary10decisionbyU.S.DistrictJudgeReedO’ConnorofTexasisoneofthefirstlegalblowstothecontroversialESGideologythathastakenovermanycorporateboardroomsandpensionfundsacrossthecountry.
Conservativeshaveopposedpensionfundmanagersforbasingtheirinvestmentdecisionsonleft-wingcauseslikeclimatechange,equity,andsocialjustice.
OneofthebiggestdriversofESGideologyistheU.S.-basedmultinationalinvestmentmanagementfirmBlackrock,whichhasfacedmultipleattacksbyGOP-controlledstatelegislaturesandHouseRepublicans.BlackRock,AmericanAirlines’primaryassetmanagerandamajorshareholder,isnotinvolvedinthelawsuit.
“Theevidencemadeclearthat[American’s]incestuousrelationshipwithBlackRockanditsowncorporategoalsdisloyallyinfluencedadministrationofthePlan,”wroteO’Connorinhisdecision.
Thefederaljudg
