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Louisiana’s long-running coastal wetlands lawsuits against oil and gas companies are headed to the U.S. Supreme Court next week, with multibillion-dollar damages potentially at stake, The Center Square writes.
At issue in Chevron v. Plaquemines Parish is whether Chevron can move the case from state to federal court by arguing its historic operations were tied to federal contracts during World War II.
Attorney General Liz Murrill rejects that claim, saying the wartime agreements were simple purchase contracts that did not direct drilling or coastal activity and that the parish’s claims stem from decades of conduct that allegedly violated Louisiana’s 1979 coastal permitting law.
Chevron and other defendants argue that federal-officer removal should apply broadly, warning that allowing local juries to hear the cases could chill companies from taking on federally related work.
More than 40 similar suits are pending statewide, and one Plaquemines verdict has already topped $744 million, underscoring the enormous financial stakes.
