In a unanimous decision, the Fifth Circuit affirmed Judge Brown’s exercise of jurisdiction and dismissal on the merits. SLFPA-E appealed, arguing heavily against Judge Brown’s initial decision to exercise federal jurisdiction. Judge Brown did not take up the defendants’ other motions. On February 13, 2015, Judge Brown granted that motion, finding in a detailed opinion that SLFPA-E’s tort claims were without merit because the defendants did not owe any duty to the plaintiff under Louisiana law. The defendants thereafter filed a host of motions to dismiss the case on the merits, including a Motion to Dismiss for failure to state a claim. Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown denied remand on the basis of federal question jurisdiction, finding that SLFPA-E’s allegations raised substantial, disputed questions of federal law. The defendants removed the case to federal court, and, after a protracted jurisdictional battle, defeated SLFPA-E’s attempt to return the case to state court. The suit attracted national attention, alleging that past and present operations of the oil and gas industry-most specifically, dredging of canals-contributed to land loss on a massive scale and rendered defendants liable for billions in damages and restoration costs. Bernard Parishes, sued 97 oil and gas companies in the Civil District Court for Orleans Parish. More than three years ago, the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority–East, a local levee board with flood protection jurisdiction in Orleans, Jefferson, and St. Today, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the Eastern District’s exercise of jurisdiction and dismissal on the merits of a headline-grabbing environmental law tort suit against 97 oil and gas companies, seeking to hold those entities responsible for Louisiana’s coastal erosion.
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