City of Imperial Beach v. Chevron Corp.

Defendants Chevron Corporation and Chevron U.S.A., Inc. (together, Chevron) removed all three of the actions to the federal district court for the Northern District of California. Chevron said all other defendants joined in or had consented to the notice of removal. Chevron also said the defendants would be moving “at the appropriate time” to dismiss the plaintiffs’ claims. Chevron asserted that though the complaint nominally asserted state law claims, it should be heard in a federal forum because there was federal question jurisdiction. Citing the Ninth Circuit’s opinion in Native Village of Kivalina v. ExxonMobil Corp., Chevron argued that “[r]eflecting the uniquely federal interests posed by greenhouse gas claims like these,” the Ninth Circuit had recognized “that causes of action of the types asserted here are governed by federal common law, not state law.” Chevron also said removal was also authorized because the action “necessarily raises disputed and substantial federal questions that a federal forum may entertain without disturbing a congressionally approved balance of responsibilities between the federal and state judiciaries”; because the Clean Air Act and other federal statutes and the U.S. Constitution completely preempted the plaintiffs’ claims; because the action arose under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA); because a causal nexus existed between the alleged actions taken by the defendants pursuant to a federal officer’s directions and the plaintiffs’ claims and because the defendants could assert colorable federal defenses; because the claims were based on alleged injuries to or conduct on federal enclaves; and because the state law claims were related to bankruptcy cases.