Overview
- Chevron won an 8-0 Supreme Court decision Friday to move Plaquemines Parish’s case into federal court, with Justice Samuel Alito recused and Justice Clarence Thomas writing the opinion.
- The venue shift puts a $745 million Louisiana state jury verdict at risk and does not resolve whether Chevron is liable for coastal damage.
- The Court said Chevron’s World War II aviation-fuel work tied closely to its crude production, meeting the federal officer removal rule that lets those acting under federal direction move cases to federal court.
- Oil companies hailed the decision as a fairer forum, while Louisiana’s attorney general and parish lawyers said they will press the claims and expect to prove damage in federal court.
- A separate Supreme Court review of the Boulder v. Suncor case next term could set wider rules for state and local climate and consumer-protection suits against energy companies.