Joint Amicus Brief Urges Supreme Court To Reverse Narrow Reading of Federal-Officer Removal Statute

ALF has joined the Washington Legal Foundation (WLF) in a merits-stage amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court in Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. Plaquemines Parish, No. 24-813, to reverse a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit that narrowly interprets the federal-officer removal statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1442(a)(1). As the amicus brief explains, the Fifth Circuit’s ruling contradicts the statute’s text and purpose, denying federal contractors access to federal courts, and exposing them to state-court bias.

The case stems from a lawsuit by Louisiana and two parishes seeking to hold oil-and-gas companies liable under state law for World War II-era crude oil production. The Fifth Circuit rejected the defendants’ attempt to remove the case to federal court, ruling that their oil production did not “relate to” their federal contracts for aviation gasoline because those contracts lacked specific directives on production.

The amicus brief argues that the Fifth Circuit’s contractual-direction requirement revives a discarded causal-nexus test and upends the broad “relating to” standard that Congress established in 2011. The defendants’ production, tied to federal wartime needs through pricing, tax exemptions, and allocations, clearly meets this standard. To safeguard federal interests and uphold congressional intent, the brief urges the Court to ensure that federal contractors can access a neutral federal forum when defending against state suits.

The brief was authored by WLF General Counsel and Vice President of Litigation, Cory L. Andrews. ALF Executive Vice President & General Counsel Lawrence S. Ebner is co-counsel on the brief.

Issue Areas:

Free Enterprise

Case:

Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. Plaquemines Parish (24-813) (Supreme Court) (merits)
Read the Amicus Brief:
See News Release:
Question(s) Presented:

1. Whether a causal-nexus or contractual-direction test survives the 2011 amendment to the federal-officer removal statute.

2. Whether a federal contractor can remove to federal court when sued for oil-production activities undertaken to fulfill a federal oil-refinement contract.

Contact:

Email ALF Executive Vice President & General Counsel Lawrence Ebner.

Date Originally Posted: September 15, 2025

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