Energy-company defendants in Louisiana’s coastal erosion lawsuits again expressed disappointment after a federal appeals court panel declined to stay its October ruling that sent one of the civil lawsuits back to state court on Plaquemines Parish.
The three-judge panel of the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Dec. 7 denied the energy companies’ motion to reconsider the court’s Oct. 17 opinion. The court at that time affirmed a federal district court ruling concluding that energy firms being sued by Plaquemines Parish were not acting under federal authority when their production facilities were operating in coastal Louisiana in the 1940s.
In turn, the appeals court directed that the coastal erosion case be returned to the 25th Judicial District Court in Louisiana.
“The companies are disappointed by the decision,” Jason Harbison, spokesman for the legal team representing BP America, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil Corp. and Shell, told the Louisiana Record in an email. “Like other similar parish lawsuits against oil and gas companies, the allegations in this case challenge decades-old oil production practices, including those used during World War II, a unique period in the relationship between the federal government and the oil and gas industry.”
Harbison pointed to U.S. Supreme Court precedent as the basis for the energy companies’ position that the coastal erosion lawsuits should be tried in federal court.
“The U.S. Supreme Court explained that access to a federal forum is warranted when a lawsuit involves a private entity that, under government direction, provided the government with an item needed to prosecute a war, as the oil and gas companies did here,” he said.
The coastal erosion litigation filed by parishes could result in billions of dollars in damages if the energy companies are found responsible for environmental degradation resulting from decades of drilling activities.
“The companies continue to believe that these lawsuits deserve to be heard in a federal forum and are considering their options for further review,” Harbison said. “Whether these cases are heard in federal or state court, the companies look forward to disproving the unfounded allegations against them."
Attorney John Carmouche represents several coastal parishes that have filed coastal erosion lawsuits against energy firms.