A series of lawsuits seeking potentially billions of dollars from oil companies for environmental damage to Louisiana’s coastal areas received a significant setback when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-0 that one case would be moved out of state court and heard in federal court—a venue more favorable to the oil companies.
The ruling followed a jury verdict in a conservative, pro-oil and gas community finding Chevron liable for billions of gallons of toxic waste dumped into a Louisiana marsh.
The decision included only eight of the nine justices because Justice Samuel Alito recused himself over his stock holdings in ConocoPhillips. The oil companies argued that their predecessors produced aviation fuel at the behest of the federal government during World War II, a point all justices agreed with.
In the court opinion, Clarence Thomas wrote: “Chevron’s case fits comfortably within the ordinary meaning of a suit ‘relating to’ the performance of federal duties.”
