The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday unanimously held that the dozens of pending environmental damage lawsuits against oil and gas companies in Louisiana belong in federal court under the federal officer removal statute.
Over the past decade, several Louisiana parishes filed lawsuits in state court against various oil and gas companies alleging the companies violated state environmental laws, which contributed to long-term and permanent damage to Louisiana’s coastline. The first of these lawsuits to reach a state trial court resulted in a $744.6 million verdict against Chevron in April 2025 (Chevron has appealed the verdict).
Citing the federal officer removal statute, many oil and gas companies have sought to remove the cases to federal court. The federal officer removal statute gives federal courts the power to hear state court cases filed against “any officer (or any person acting under that officer) of the United States or any agency thereof, in an official or individual capacity, for or relating to any act under color of such office.” Oil and gas companies have argued that under this statute, the pending state environmental suits against them belong in federal court because their predecessors produced crude oil for aviation gasoline along the Louisiana coastline during World War I.
Last year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit heard a consolidated appeal brought by seven oil and gas companies, which argued for federal jurisdiction as to the pending Louisiana suits. A divided Fifth Circuit ultimately found the companies could not show the pending lawsuits were “for or relating to” the World War II-era government contracts as the federal government’s wartime regulation of crude oil production was “minimal.” The oil and gas companies subsequently appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
On Friday, in an 8-0 opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Fifth Circuit’s reasoning, holding that “the phrase ‘relating to’ sweeps broadly, so that a defendant seeking to transfer his case from state court to federal court is not required to show that his federal duties specifically required or strictly caused the challenged conduct.” Thus, according to the court, the oil and gas companies’ government contracts “did not have to expressly direct or invite . . . crude oil production for that conduct to ‘relate’” to its refining.
The recent decision highlights the historical role of federal contracts in oil industry activities during World War II and the current influence on environmental litigation. While these suits will now proceed in federal court, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill released a statement noting that the state will continue seeking damages against the oil and gas companies – whether in state or federal court.
