A Louisiana jury hit Chevron with a $740M verdict for coastal destruction, but the Supreme Court just handed the company a way out

The Supreme Court handed a unanimous win to oil and gas companies in their fight against environmental lawsuits in Louisiana. As detailed by AP News, the procedural ruling gives these companies a fresh start in federal court, widely considered a more favorable venue. It came after a state jury had already ordered Chevron to pay upward of $740 million to clean up damage to Louisiana’s coastline.

The ruling affects roughly a quarter of the dozens of lawsuits filed against oil companies, according to attorney John Carmouche. Chevron welcomed the decision, stating it looks forward to litigating in federal court, where it has consistently argued these cases belong because the work was performed under federal supervision.

Justice Clarence Thomas, writing for the 8-0 court, centered the ruling on the argument that the work in Louisiana originated as a wartime effort to boost aviation gasoline supply for the U.S. government during World War II. Backed by the Trump administration, the companies argued this wartime connection placed the cases in federal jurisdiction. Thomas agreed, noting that Congress has long allowed suits against government contractors to be heard in federal court. Justice Samuel Alito recused himself from the case, citing financial ties to ConocoPhillips.

Oil companies win federal venue, but Louisiana isn’t backing down

Louisiana’s coastal parishes have lost more than 2,000 square miles of land over the past century, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, an area roughly the size of Delaware. The state’s coastal protection agency has warned that an additional 3,000 square miles could be lost in the coming decades. As detailed by Mississippi River Delta, multiple factors drive this loss, including the leveeing of the Mississippi River, which cut off sediment flow to the delta and left wetlands unable to replenish themselves.

Shipping channels and canals, including the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet, Houma Navigational Canal, and Freshwater Bayou Canal, have also allowed saltwater to penetrate deep into freshwater wetlands, accelerating their collapse. Oil and gas infrastructure contributed directly, with thousands of miles of canals dug to accommodate pipelines and drilling operations, altering water flow and killing wetland vegetation. Dams on the Missouri, Mississippi, and Ohio Rivers have trapped sediment, reducing the amount reaching the Lower Mississippi River by more than 70 percent since 1850. Amid the Trump administration’s involvement in the case, Americans weighing cross-border options have drawn attention to how federal policy decisions continue to shape daily life.

Hurricanes have compounded the damage. Storm surges from Katrina and Rita wiped out hundreds of square miles of coastal wetlands in days, with the destruction worsened by prior wetland loss. The BP Deepwater Horizon explosion, which released 206 million gallons of oil into the Gulf, damaged hundreds of miles of shoreline and thousands of acres of coastal marsh.

The litigation has drawn unusual political alignments. The $740 million verdict against Chevron came from Plaquemines Parish, one of the state’s most conservative and pro-energy communities. Republican Governor Jeff Landry backed the lawsuits when he served as attorney general, and Republican Attorney General Liz Murrill noted the political crossover. The specific case involved jurors finding that Texaco, acquired by Chevron in 2001, had violated Louisiana coastal regulations for decades by failing to restore wetlands impacted by dredging, drilling, and dumping wastewater. Chevron denies responsibility, arguing it is wrong to sue over work done before state environmental regulations existed.

Friday’s ruling overturns a 2024 decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The energy industry group Grow Louisiana called for an end to the litigation entirely, with Executive Director Marc Ehrhardt stating the lawsuits have cost the state billions and killed jobs. The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry called the decision “an important win for legal clarity,” while those funding the cases, like the energy standoff affecting global oil flows, underscore how consequential energy jurisdiction disputes can be. Attorney Carmouche stated that changing the venue will not deter efforts to hold oil companies accountable, and Anne Rolfes of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade called the ruling a “bump in the road.”