The Supreme Court has agreed to weigh in on a procedural dispute over which court should decide an oil company’s responsibility for Louisiana coastline restoration.
On Monday, the justices granted a petition from Chevron USA Inc. asking the high court to resolve what requirements must be met for certain cases to be transferred from state to federal court.
The petition comes after Chevron and other oil companies have faced dozens of lawsuits led by Plaquemines Parish, alleging that the companies must pay to restore land they claim was degraded by oil production dating back to World War II. Earlier this year, in one of those state suits, a Plaquemines Parish jury awarded the parish $744 million in damages from the company.
Chevron has pushed for the disputes to be resolved in federal court, saying it has grounds to do so because it was producing oil and gas under a federal contract. Under the federal officer removal statute, if a company is “acting under” the direction of a federal officer then a case filed in state court can be removed to a federal court.
