{"id":425357,"date":"2026-02-09T12:02:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T11:02:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=425357"},"modified":"2026-02-09T12:02:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T11:02:19","slug":"supreme-court-showdown-could-unleash-litigation-war-on-u-s-energy-companies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=425357","title":{"rendered":"Supreme Court showdown could unleash litigation war on U.S. energy companies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"A
This image depicts a gavel symbolizing justice and law, juxtaposed with a rising financial graph. Ideal for topics around legal services, economic success, and finance.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From CFACT<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Bonner Cohen, Ph. D.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Politicians and trial lawyers in Louisiana are hoping to use the home-field advantage of state courts to shake down oil and gas companies. The alleged misdeed: contributing to coastal erosion and damaging wetlands while producing aviation fuel for the U.S. military during World War II.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cash- strapped coastal parishes (counties), politically well-connected trial lawyers, and Louisiana\u2019s reputation as what the\u00a0American Tort Reform Association<\/a>\u00a0calls a \u201clitigation hellhole\u201d have created a toxic brew with implications that reach far beyond the Bayou State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Jan. 12, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Chevron USA et al. v. Plaquemines Parish et al. The justices will decide (probably by late June) whether companies can be sued in state courts for actions they took on behalf of and under contract with the federal government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A ruling by the high court allowing a Plaquemines Parish jury\u2019s $744.6 million verdict in April against Chevron<\/a> under a 1978 Louisiana law to stand would deal a serious blow to the U.S. oil and natural gas sector \u2014 precisely when the nation has reemerged as a global energy superpower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The roots of the high-stakes Supreme Court showdown stretch back over eight decades, when Chevron<\/a> (then known as Texaco<\/a>) produced aviation gas (avgas) under contract with the Petroleum Administration for War, a federal wartime agency. In 2013, the state of Louisiana and Plaquemines Parish sued Chevron<\/a> and other energy companies for damages stemming from the production of crude oil for refining into avgas, alleging that the companies\u2019 drilling and other activities caused coastal erosion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The whopping $744.6 million verdict handed down last year prompted Chevron<\/a> and other oil companies, supported by the Trump administration, to petition to have the case removed to federal court. They have good reason to seek a less-biased venue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cState courts in Louisiana present a substantial risk of local bias against out-of-state defendants,\u201d said Richard A. Epstein, a professor of law at New York University. \u201cThe Louisiana Attorney General\u2019s Office entered into a joint prosecution agreement with [Plaquemines Parish] counsel John Carmouche, contractually prohibiting the State from supporting any defense, however meritorious, raised by Chevron<\/a>. This arrangement erased the attorney general\u2019s independence and improperly aligned the State\u2019s interests with private financial gain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis risk of bias was further evident in the conduct of Judge Michael Clement \u2014 a recipient of campaign contributions from Mr. Carmouche and his associated PACs \u2014 in a related trial involving identical issues,\u201d Mr. Epstein added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Congressional efforts to protect private parties, including contractors, from overzealous state prosecutors and courts date to 1815. Hoping to add clarity to those legal protections in 2011, Congress broadened the scope of the standard that allows cases to be removed to federal court to include actions \u201crelated to\u201d the fulfillment of a federal contract. This bears directly on the case in Louisiana, where pollution from oil drilling was linked to refining it into wartime aviation fuel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe record is clear,\u201d the Washington Legal Foundation and the Atlantic Legal Foundation note in an amicus brief submitted to the high court. \u201cPetitioners\u2019 World War II oil production directly relates to their federal avgas contracts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a vertically integrated company such as Chevron<\/a>, there would have been no aviation fuel without the drilling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The implications of tying up wartime federal contractors in state court are not lost on two military leaders who submitted their own brief to the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur nation can ill afford the divisions, confusion, and uncertainty that would necessarily result if disputes arising from wartime decision-making were adjudicated in piecemeal fashion in various state courts,\u201d retired Gen. Richard B. Myers and retired Adm. Mike Mullen said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Louisiana\u2019s loss of coastal wetlands \u2014 caused by hurricanes, sinking land (subsidence), and the diversion of the Mississippi River for flood control \u2014 long predates World War II. Targeting a single, deep-pocketed industry as the culprit ignores the complexities of the region\u2019s ecosystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are over 40 cases pending in state courts that are dripping with political bias and contempt for the defendants,\u201d the American Tort Reform Association<\/a> points out. If the high court rules to keep the Louisiana case in state court, then it will set a precedent that opens the door to the imposition of ruinous, retroactive liability nationwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article originally appeared at The Washington Times<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Politicians and trial lawyers in Louisiana are hoping to use the home-field advantage of state courts to shake down oil and gas companies. The alleged misdeed: contributing to coastal erosion and damaging wetlands while producing aviation fuel for the U.S. military during World War II.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":425360,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"Explore the Supreme Court case that could reshape liability for energy companies and impact U.S. coastal restoration efforts. Learn more!","jetpack_seo_html_title":"Supreme Court Decision Could Impact Oil Industry Liability","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":true,"token":"eyJpbWciOiJodHRwczpcL1wvY2xpbWF0ZS1zY2llbmNlLnByZXNzXC93cC1jb250ZW50XC91cGxvYWRzXC8yMDI2XC8wMlwvMEdhdmVsLWdyYXBoLXNjYWxlZC0xLTEwMjR4NTc0LmpwZyIsInR4dCI6IlN1cHJlbWUgQ291cnQgc2hvd2Rvd24gY291bGQgdW5sZWFzaCBsaXRpZ2F0aW9uIHdhciBvbiBVLlMuIGVuZXJneSBjb21wYW5pZXMiLCJ0ZW1wbGF0ZSI6ImhpZ2h3YXkiLCJmb250IjoiIiwiYmxvZ19pZCI6MTU1ODEyNDQ5fQ.yJQzOYjHKcWFbTZSxBrBHoMrG-SX5KOvz8rldlUPbnkMQ"},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691841293,691841292,691821147,691820726,691828902,691841294],"class_list":["post-425357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-american-tort-reform-association","tag-chevron-usa","tag-lawsuits","tag-louisiana","tag-oil-and-gas-companies","tag-plaquemines-parish","fallback-thumbnail"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1MEB","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":419257,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=419257","url_meta":{"origin":425357,"position":0},"title":"Climate activists v. the U.S. energy industry: Cases to watch in 2026","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"12\/31\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Anti-oil and gas advocates across the country have pursued litigation in recent years attempting to force the fossil fuel industry to pay for decades of financial damages the advocates claim were caused by climate change.","rel":"","context":"In \"\u201cwoke lawfare\u201d\"","block_context":{"text":"\u201cwoke lawfare\u201d","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=woke-lawfare"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AQMEEFUnPf8HA0ymfhJf8CdrreRio04ZlHgEJ-agr4JsFSgS-Bq5VFJNWkIa2bocCBvnzRP4-3XNefuEn-ydJbLlNaSuZLx8z2G8S0qWKoe8APXcAgYHIpWfFjuZxBVDvuiysvduRVNcwc-ZTwL2OuXy2wkG.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AQMEEFUnPf8HA0ymfhJf8CdrreRio04ZlHgEJ-agr4JsFSgS-Bq5VFJNWkIa2bocCBvnzRP4-3XNefuEn-ydJbLlNaSuZLx8z2G8S0qWKoe8APXcAgYHIpWfFjuZxBVDvuiysvduRVNcwc-ZTwL2OuXy2wkG.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AQMEEFUnPf8HA0ymfhJf8CdrreRio04ZlHgEJ-agr4JsFSgS-Bq5VFJNWkIa2bocCBvnzRP4-3XNefuEn-ydJbLlNaSuZLx8z2G8S0qWKoe8APXcAgYHIpWfFjuZxBVDvuiysvduRVNcwc-ZTwL2OuXy2wkG.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AQMEEFUnPf8HA0ymfhJf8CdrreRio04ZlHgEJ-agr4JsFSgS-Bq5VFJNWkIa2bocCBvnzRP4-3XNefuEn-ydJbLlNaSuZLx8z2G8S0qWKoe8APXcAgYHIpWfFjuZxBVDvuiysvduRVNcwc-ZTwL2OuXy2wkG.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AQMEEFUnPf8HA0ymfhJf8CdrreRio04ZlHgEJ-agr4JsFSgS-Bq5VFJNWkIa2bocCBvnzRP4-3XNefuEn-ydJbLlNaSuZLx8z2G8S0qWKoe8APXcAgYHIpWfFjuZxBVDvuiysvduRVNcwc-ZTwL2OuXy2wkG.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":451642,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=451642","url_meta":{"origin":425357,"position":1},"title":"Louisiana Did the Right Thing by Blocking Climate Lawfare","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"06\/22\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"A recent article in the Times-Picayune and Nola.com, \u201cLouisiana just made it illegal to sue oil companies over climate change. So have other states,\u201d describes a recent bill passed in the Louisiana legislature and signed into law by Gov. 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