Supreme Court to decide whether Louisiana coastal suits belong in federal court

The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on Monday over whether more than 40 lawsuits brought by Louisiana officials against oil and gas companies should remain in state court or be moved to federal court. The companies, led by Chevron and Exxon Mobil, argue the cases fall under the federal officer removal statute because some oil production was tied to wartime federal contracts, and the Trump administration has joined them in support.

Plaintiffs in the parishes, including Plaquemines, say the suits allege decades of illegal activity — drilling, dredging and waste disposal without proper permits — and invoke a 1978 Louisiana coastal management law; a jury in Plaquemines awarded $745 million in one case in April.

Louisiana has lost about 2,000 square miles of land since the 1930s and Plaquemines Parish has been reduced by nearly half, the article notes, citing coastal subsidence, rising seas, storm risk, levees that limit sediment flow and canals from oil production. The state has a $50 billion coastal master plan and has relied heavily on funds from a Deepwater Horizon settlement that is diminishing.

Republican state leaders have supported the suits even as they back a pro‑energy agenda, drawing criticism from the political right. The legal question before the justices is narrow and technical: whether the federal officer statute permits removal for actions “related to” federal duties.

Key Topics

Politics, Supreme Court, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Plaquemines Parish, Deepwater Horizon