The US Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that a lawsuit by Plaquemines Parish against Chevron must be transferred from state to federal court, effectively voiding a $745 million judgment against the oil company. The decision stems from Chevron's activities during World War II as a military contractor off Louisiana's coast. Legal experts describe the move as frustrating but not a final win for the oil industry.
The Supreme Court ruled earlier this month that Plaquemines Parish's case accusing Chevron of damaging coastal wetlands through canal dredging and drilling should proceed in federal rather than state court. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that the company's work as a military contractor during World War II warranted the shift. This unanimous decision cancels the prior $745 million award from a Louisiana state court jury after a decade-long fight, requiring the case to restart nearby in federal court. “Frankly, it’s a ridiculous situation,” said Patrick Parenteau, emeritus professor at Vermont Law and Graduate School. “All this time and effort has gone into litigating these issues before a jury in Louisiana. Now you have to do it all over again, but you’re doing it sort of up the street in the federal courthouse.” Edward P. Richards, a law professor at Louisiana State University, noted surprise that the case was not originally in federal court, citing federal aspects like dredging in navigable waterways. He suggested even liberal justices agreed due to these factors. Louisiana faces severe coastal land loss—over 2,000 square miles in the last century, with a football field vanishing every 100 minutes—and expects another 3,000 square miles gone by 2050 without action. The ruling drew applause from the Trump administration, seen as more industry-friendly, but experts say oil companies still face a Louisiana jury. Governor Jeff Landry, a Republican and oil supporter who has called climate change a hoax, backs these parish lawsuits. The decision is unlikely to affect broader climate lawsuits from states like Hawaii and Rhode Island, which target oil companies' past disinformation.
