WHO: Attorney General Liz Murrill and Solicitor General Ben Aguiñaga (he will argue)

WHAT: Chevron USA Incorporated, et al., Petitioners v. Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, et al.

WHERE: Supreme Court of the United States. Listen live here. 

WHEN: Monday, January 12, at 10 AM EST

WHY: The United States Supreme Court will be addressing the federal contractor removal statute, which permits a defendant to remove a case from state court to federal court if the conduct complained of "arises under" and "relates to" the federal contract. Specifically, the Court will be deciding whether cases filed under the Louisiana Coastal Zone Permitting Act, which became effective in 1980, should be removed to federal court.  Petitioners (Chevron and its affiliates) claim that in conducting operations to produce oil and gas, which began during World War II and continued into the 1990s, they were "acting under" a federal contract to supply the federal government with high-octane aviation gasoline ("avgas") and these activities are "related to" it. The contracts to buy avgas did not contain any explicit directive pertaining to petitioners' oil production activities.

"These cases belong in state court. The federal government is a sophisticated contractor - it knows how to contract for exactly what it wants. It did not contract for the production of oil and gas - this was a supply contract. While most people know this already, it is also important to note that WWII ended in 1945. Texaco/Chevron's activities did not. Evidence in one case alone showed 4 billion gallons of toxic production wastewater was continually dumped into our marsh and that it caused long-term damage," said Attorney General Liz Murrill.

*Read our brief here.

*Read AG Murrill's op-ed about the case in NOLA.com here. 

*Read AG Murrill's op-ed in the Washington Examiner here.