Louisiana energy companies have mounted a challenge over last month’s three-judge panel ruling that concluded lawsuits blaming the industry for coastal erosion belong in state court.
The panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit unanimously decided the litigation filed by several Louisiana parishes should be decided in state courts. Cases filed by private attorneys on behalf of the parishes allege that oil and gas companies’ operations defied the Louisiana State and Local Coastal Resources Management Act of 1978.
The energy companies, including Chevron, ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil, have argued that the companies were subject to substantial federal direction and federal statutes when the industrial activities occurred.
The defendants’ arguments asking the Fifth Circuit to reconsider the panel’s Aug. 10 decision indicate that the company’s oil and gas production activities in question were required by U.S. government’s directives during World War II. In addition, pre-1980s dredging activities in local parishes were conducted under the provisions of federal law, the companies argue.
“Defendants today filed petitions for rehearing and rehearing en banc of the panel decision issued August 10, 2020, demonstrating that the decision contravenes circuit precedent and contains legal and factual errors that warrant further review,” the defendants argue in their legal brief.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) and other business associations seconded such arguments by filing amicus briefs in the lawsuits, which could ultimately cost energy companies billions of dollars if they are found liable for coastal degradation.
“There is a long history of federal direction and control over oil and gas operations during wartime,” the API said in a legal brief filed this week. “The panel’s decision disrupts this relationship by creating a disincentive for private industry to work closely with the federal government in time of war, only to face state liability decades later.”
A spokeswoman for the major energy companies involved in the lawsuits also emphasized that the issues brought up in the coastal erosion lawsuits logically belong in the federal courts.
““Disputes challenging decades of federally authorized operations, carried out according to federal laws and regulations, should be heard in federal court,” Melissa Landry told the Louisiana Record in an email. “We continue to believe the issues set forth in the petitions are of national concern that should be heard and decided uniformly in federal court.”