Ruling could mean trials against Big Oil over state wetlands

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal appeals court has ordered a nine-year-old lawsuit filed against oil and gas companies over damage to Louisiana’s wetlands to be returned to state court for trial, potentially clearing the way for at least 41 similar suits to move forward.

A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday upheld a January decision by the late U.S. District Judge Martin L.C. Feldman of New Orleans, The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate reported. The ruling returns the suit filed by Plaquemines Parish against Chevron USA, Exxon Mobil Corp., ConocoPhillips Co., BP America, and Shell to state court in Plaquemines Parish, the newspaper said.

Feldman correctly found that just because oil and gas exploration and production operations during World War II were conducted on behalf of the war effort, the companies were not acting under the orders of federal agents in a way that required the suit to be heard in federal court, the panel ruled.

“Today’s decision will make the history books,” John Carmouche, an attorney representing the parish and the state, told the newspaper. “Finally, Louisiana can be made whole for everything it has given to our nation in resources.”

Carmouche said the decision would apply to all 42 cases in which he is lead attorney, and should result in early trial dates.

“All parties agreed that this decision would apply to all cases. We can get to trial in eight months or less,” he said.

However, a spokesman for several of the oil and gas companies could not say if they would appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, or that they would agree to apply it to the other cases.

Jason Harbison, on behalf of the legal teams representing BP America, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil Corporation and Shell, said the...