WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court handed a win Friday to oil and gas companies fighting lawsuits over coastal land loss and environmental degradation in Louisiana.
The unanimous procedural decision gives the companies a new day in federal court after a state jury ordered Chevron to pay upward of $740 million to clean up damage to the state's coastline, one of multiple similar lawsuits.
Backed by the Trump administration, the companies argued the case belongs in federal court because the work in Louisiana started as an effort to quickly increase the supply of aviation gasoline for the U.S. government during World War II.
The high court agreed. Justice Clarence Thomas, writing for the 8-0 court, noted Congress has long allowed lawsuits against the government and its contractors to be heard in federal court. This suit, he wrote, is clearly related to Chevron’s wartime efforts to bolster the U.S. aviation fuel supply.
Louisiana's coastal parishes have lost more than 2,000 square miles (5,180 square kilometers) of land over the past century, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, which has also identified oil and gas infrastructure as a significant cause. The state could lose an additional 3,000 square miles (7,770 square kilometers) in the coming decades, its coastal protection agency has warned.
Republican Gov. Jeff Landry backed the lawsuits when he was attorney general, even though he’s a longtime oil and gas industry supporter. An attorney for local Louisiana leaders, John Carmouche, said they disagree with the decision but plan to keep the lawsuits alive.
“Simply changing where the case will be heard, as has happened, will not deter our efforts to have Big Oil held accountable for the damages they caused and the enormous restoration they owe the people of Louisiana,” Carmouche said.
The companies appealed to the high court after jurors in Plaquemines Parish — a sliver of land straddling the Mississippi River into the Gulf — found that energy giant Texaco, acquired by Chevron in 2001, had for decades violated Louisiana regulations governing coastal resources by failing to restore wetlands impacted by dredging canals, drilling wells and billions of gallons of wastewater dumped into the marsh.
Chevron applauded the Supreme Court’s decision, saying the claims are related to work that the companies did under federal supervision. “Chevron looks forward to litigating these cases in federal court, where they belong,” the company said in a statement.
The company denies responsibility for land loss in Louisiana and argues it’s wrong to sue it for what it did before state environmental regulations were in place.
The case is one of dozens of lawsuits filed in 2013 alleging oil giants including Chevron and Exxon violated state environmental laws for decades. Friday’s ruling overturns a 2024 decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and Carmouche said it affects 11 of the 42 cases against various oil companies.
The energy industry group Grow Louisiana said the decision should spell the end of the litigation. “These lawsuits have cost Louisiana billions, killed jobs and padded trial lawyers’ pockets," Executive Director Marc Ehrhardt said. “Enough is enough. Stop these lawsuits.”
Justice Samuel Alito recused himself from the case, pointing to financial ties to ConocoPhillips. He's previously recused himself from other cases due to his stock holdings.
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Brook reported from New Orleans.