Overview
- Oral arguments are scheduled for Monday, Jan. 12, with justices set to consider whether oil companies can move parish erosion lawsuits to federal court based on World War II–era federal contracting ties.
- The case follows a Plaquemines Parish jury verdict of about $744.6 million against Chevron for wetlands damage linked to historical operations.
- Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill maintains the claims arise under state law and argues wartime purchase agreements did not direct drilling or decades of activities later governed by the state’s 1979 coastal permitting law.
- Chevron and ExxonMobil argue the federal-officer removal statute extends to contractors acting under federal authority, asserting that wartime production and refining for AvGas were federally supervised and related to the challenged activities.
- The Solicitor General has secured 10 minutes of argument in support of the companies, and the ruling could determine the forum for more than 40 similar parish suits with multibillion-dollar exposure and broader implications for federal contractors and concerns about local bias.