Shell Gulf of Mexico Inc. v. Center for Biological Diversity, Inc.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that it lacked jurisdiction over a declaratory judgment action brought by Shell Gulf of Mexico Inc. and Shell Offshore Inc. (Shell) against environmental organizations in connection with federal approvals of oil spill response plans for Shell operations in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas on Alaska’s coast. Shell anticipated the organizations would challenge the approvals, and sought to expedite the litigation by bringing its own suit. The Ninth Circuit rejected this “novel litigation strategy,” finding that Shell and the environmental groups did not have “adverse legal interests.” A related appeal that raised similar issues was dismissed as moot. Shell’s declaratory judgment action had been consolidated with an action brought by environmental groups to challenge the federal approvals; in June 2015, the Ninth Circuit ruled for Shell and the federal defendants in the environmental groups’ challenge to the federal approvals of the oil spill response plans.