Chevron USA v. Plaquemines Parish, LA: A Supreme Court Oral Argument Preview
Panelists:
Richard A. Epstein, Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Law, NYU Law School
Lauren Sheets Jarrell, VP & Counsel, Civil Justice Policy, American Tort Reform Association
Mike Fragoso, Partner, Torridon Law PLLC
About:
On January 12, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on whether a state or federal court is the proper judicial venue to hear state claims of environmental harm filed against a federal government contractor. The damages awarded, private attorney-public official litigation coordination, World War II-era facts, and broader due-process concerns, however, make this no ordinary procedural or statutory dispute. Our panelists will dig into the intriguing background, discuss the legal arguments on the questions presented, and explain the broader implications of this high-stakes case.
Related Materials:
- WLF Working Paper: No Erosion by Pollution: The Shaky Foundations of Coastal Louisiana’s Lawsuits Against Energy Producers
- WLF Amicus Brief: Chevron USA v. Plaquemines Parish, LA
- American Tort Reform Association Amicus Brief: Chevron USA v. Plaquemines Parish, LA
- Amicus Brief of Hon. William P. Barr, et al.: Chevron USA v. Plaquemines Parish, LA
Panelists
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Professor Epstein is the inaugural Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Law at NYU Law School; a Senior Research fellow at the Civitas Institute at the University of Texas Austin; and the James Parker Hall Distinguished Professor of Law Emeritus and Senior Lecturer at the University of Chicago. He has written numerous articles on a wide range of legal and interdisciplinary subjects, as well as over 15 books, including Cases and Materials on Torts, Thirteenth Edition, a widely used casebook co-authored with Professor Catherine M. Sharkey.
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Lauren is Vice President and Counsel, Civil Justice Policy at the American Tort Reform Association. In this position, she manages and staffs ATRA’s Amicus Brief program, develops and implements the Association’s civil justice policy, and manages and has done writing for ATRA’s vaunted “Judicial Hellholes” program. Lauren joined ATRA in 2011 while finishing her law degree at Georgetown Law School. While attending Georgetown University, Lauren was a four year starter and captain of the varsity field hockey team.
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Mike is a partner with Torridon Law PLLC in Washington, D.C. He most recently served as Chief Counsel to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Prior to that, Mike was Chief Counsel for nominations and constitutional law for the Senate Judiciary Committee under Ranking Member Chuck Grassley and Chairman Lindsey Graham. During the first Trump administration Mike was deputy assistant attorney general in the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Policy. He also served as a judicial clerk to U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit Judge Diane Sykes.
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