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Oil Companies Push Again to Get Louisiana Cases Back in Federal Court

Filed Under: Latest News, Other Suits

By Karen Savage

Chevron, ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips have asked the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider its decision to keep lawsuits in state court that have been filed against them by several Louisiana parishes.

In petitions filed Tuesday, the companies contend a three-judge panel of the appellate court erred when it ruled that the companies waited too long before moving the cases to federal court.

The suits were filed by Plaquemines and Cameron Parishes and are among more than 40 that have been brought by Louisiana parishes against oil and gas companies since 2013. The parishes allege the companies’ drilling, dredging and waste disposal operations have severely damaged the state’s wetlands.

The fossil fuel companies have tried repeatedly to have the cases heard in federal court.

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Investors: Exxon’s ‘Self Investigation’ Shouldn’t Sink Their Lawsuit

Filed Under: Other Suits

By Karen Savage

Institutional investors suing ExxonMobil in New Jersey have asked a federal court judge in Texas for permission to intervene in a lawsuit filed against the company by shareholders in that state.

Those investors—Saratoga Advantage Trust Energy & Basic Materials Portfolio and the City of Birmingham Retirement and Relief System—argue that if the Texas case is dismissed with prejudice, as Exxon has requested, it could result in the dismissal of their suit.

“If this court grants dismissal, it should do so without prejudice, or alternatively, with prejudice to the named Texas plaintiffs only,” the New Jersey investors wrote in their motion to intervene, which was filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Dallas. 

When cases are dismissed with prejudice, the court is indicating it has made a final decision on the merits of the case and it cannot be filed again.

Plaintiffs in both states allege that current and former Exxon executives and board members failed to protect their investments and the company from the risks of climate change. 

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Federal Judge Orders Honolulu Climate Suit to Proceed

Filed Under: Liability Litigation, Other Suits

By Karen Savage

A climate liability lawsuit filed by the city and county of Honolulu will proceed, a federal judge ruled Friday, overturning his own order to pause the case.

The case was filed in state court by the city and county of Honolulu against Aloha Petroleum, BHP Group, BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Marathon Oil, and Shell in March, but was moved to federal court the following month.

It has been on hold since May, when the companies convinced U.S. District Court Judge Derrick K. Watson to pause the proceedings. The companies argued that a delay would  allow the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether to weigh in on whether dozens of these suits filed across the country should be heard in state courts, where almost all were filed, or federal courts, where the fossil fuel companies think they have a better chance of shaking them.

The Supreme Court has not indicated whether it will consider this question and Watson said he now believes it is unlikely to, so he decided against continuing the stay. 

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