Connect with us

Southeast

Experts warn of biggest ‘scandal in litigation system’ if SCOTUS doesn’t nix landmark energy pollution case

Published

on

Experts warn of biggest ‘scandal in litigation system’ if SCOTUS doesn’t nix landmark energy pollution case

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

FIRST ON FOX: A landmark Supreme Court case set to decide whether Big Oil entities can move coastal erosion suits out of local and state courts and cement them in federal courts, as localities continue to seek billions from domestic oil companies, will have far-reaching repercussions, experts said.

Last year, a jury in coastal Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, ordered Chevron to pay more than $740 million for wetlands damage linked to operations by its former subsidiary Texaco in the mid-20th century.

While the Supreme Court case does not seek to overturn the fine and was filed before the Louisiana ruling, a decision by the high court could carry multibillion-dollar implications, several legal experts said.

TRUMP’S VENEZUELA OIL BLOCKADE PUTS CHEVRON IN THE MIDDLE OF A HIGH-STAKES SANCTIONS CRACKDOWN

Advertisement

A Chevron Corp. flag flies on the drilling floor of a Nabors Industries Ltd. drill rig in the Permian Basin near Midland, Texas, U.S., on Thursday, March 1, 2018. (Daniel Acker/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

As Chevron argues the suits it is facing in certain Gulf Coast communities — where critics claim some local and state officials are in cahoots against them and aligned with friendly attorneys for the municipalities — many damage claims stem from World War II-era fuel production carried out under federal contract. The companies say that the link to the federal government, along with alleged local bias, means future cases must be heard at the federal level.

Plaquemines Parish argued the claims involve environmental harm that is beyond the control of Washington — meaning that the high court’s decision could reshape where massive suits against Big Oil can be heard; as many companies also seek to ramp up production in line with President Donald Trump’s “energy dominance agenda.”

“There is thus no denying that these petitioners are being sued in state court for production activities undertaken to fulfill their federal refining contracts,” a brief filed by Chevron and ExxonMobil said, in part.

SCALISE LEADS GOP FIGHT AT SCOTUS TO STOP ‘RADICAL’ LEFT’S ‘WAR ON AMERICAN ENERGY’

Advertisement

Prominent NYU law professor Richard Epstein said Wednesday that Plaquemines Parish has pointed to massive erosion dating back to the 1920s amid increased wartime operations, while also citing hurricanes’ devastating impact on the bayou’s already fragile landscape.

Companies used the area to produce “AvGas” for wartime aircraft, and that Louisiana officials calculated the erosion in the billions of gallons, but added that comparisons made to the BP Oil Spill were different because “pollution is very different than erosion.”

“Nobody wishes to deny it, but it had nothing to do with it. So what you do is you have the Supreme Court dealing with a very technical question,” he said.

FIRM BEHIND CLIMATE LAWSUITS FACES DOJ REFERRAL AFTER COURT FINDS ‘MISCONDUCT BORDERING ON CRIMINAL’

“Local bias issue is extremely powerful, which is why you have that statute. It’s the same reason why we have diversity jurisdiction; the home court advantage is really huge and there’s no place where it’s worse than in Louisiana — so you get the bias, you get these jury verdicts, which are completely wacko as far as I can tell,” he said.

Advertisement

He faulted Louisiana officials for siding with plaintiff’s lawyers in the fine-related case to oppose “anything that they bring into court” on such matters, calling it an “outright mischarge of duty” that requires high court intervention.

CLIMATE LAWFARE CAMPAIGN DEALT BLOW IN SOUTH CAROLINA

Epstein said he is “reasonably confident” that the court will reverse a lower court’s ruling that the parish is the proper legal jurisdiction, warning that if not “it’s a bigger scandal than I think we’ve ever seen in terms of the litigation system.”

Mike Fragoso, an attorney at former Attorney General Bill Barr’s firm Torridon Law, said that there are more than 40 cases filed that allege oil and gas companies have caused erosion through exploration activities in the Gulf; totaling billions of dollars in claims.

Those hefty figures should be a warning against so-called “hometowning” — or the dynamic in which local juries tend to side with their neighbor plaintiffs and against “outsider” companies, Fragoso said.

Advertisement

TOP ENERGY GROUP CALLS FOR PROBE INTO SECRETIVE ‘NATIONAL LAWFARE CAMPAIGN’ TO INFLUENCE JUDGES ON CLIMATE

“The idea is to prevent local judges and juries from hometowning federal officials as they’re doing the work of the federal government,” he said.

“And Chevron’s view is that because they were in the AvGas business, at the direction of the federal government in World War II, they belong in federal court. The state of Louisiana and the plaintiffs disagree.”

While a supporter of U.S. energy development, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry sided with Plaquemines as attorney general when the saga began.

CLIMATE GROUP SCRUBS JUDGES’ NAMES FROM WEBSITE AFTER UNEARTHED CHATS UNMASKED COZY TIES

Advertisement

Current AG Liz Murrill said in a statement that “virtually every federal court has rejected Chevron’s attempt to avoid liability for knowingly and intentionally violating state law.”

“I’ll fight Chevron in state or federal court — either way, they will not win,” she added.

John Carmouche, an attorney behind the Chevron case and other pending suits, said the appeal to the high bench doesn’t focus on the merits of the dispute itself.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“It’s more delay, they’re going to fight till the end, and we’re going to continue to fight as well,” he told The Associated Press.

Advertisement

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Read the full article from Here

Southeast

Virginia murder suspect in bus stop stabbing had lengthy criminal history, multiple dropped charges

Published

on

Virginia murder suspect in bus stop stabbing had lengthy criminal history, multiple dropped charges

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

A Virginia murder suspect accused of fatally stabbing a woman at a bus stop earlier this week has a lengthy criminal history filled with multiple arrests, but was let back onto the streets nearly every time. 

Abdul Jalloh, 32, is charged with the Monday night killing of Stephanie Minter, 41, of Fredericksburg, at a bus stop shelter, the Fairfax County Police Department said. 

Minter was found by officers with stab wounds to her upper body and pronounced dead at the scene, police said. 

Abdul Jalloh, 32, is accused of killing Stephanie Minter, 41, at a Virginia bus stop.  (Fairfax County Police Department; provided)

Advertisement

Jalloh, 32, who was seen on surveillance cameras exiting the bus with Minter at Richmond Highway and Arlington Drive, was arrested the next day. 

He was arrested at a liquor store after an employee called 911. At the time, officers arrested him for allegedly shoplifting. Investigators linked him to the murder a day later. 

Authorities were still trying to determine a motive for the killing and what led to the deadly stabbing. 

A search of online court records revealed Jalloh has more than a dozen arrests in northern Virginia, including on charges of petty larceny and malicious wounding. 

In most of the cases, prosecutors dropped the charges, FOX D.C. reported. 

Advertisement

REPEAT OFFENDER ON PAROLE FOR MURDER TIED TO BRUTAL JAIL ASSAULT, ESCAPE HOURS AFTER ROBBERY

Abdul Jalloh seen on a bus in Virginia.  (Fairfax County Police Department)

Laura Birnbaum, the chief of staff for Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano, said Jalloh was known to the district attorney’s office and was “acutely aware of the risk he posed to the community.”

“That is why we convicted the defendant of a 2023 malicious wounding charge, and have since made every effort to hold him accountable each subsequent time that he has come in contact with the criminal justice system, including asking him to be held in custody whenever possible,” Birnbaum said. 

“Unfortunately, the defendant in this case also had a history of selecting victims with no fixed address – some of the most vulnerable members of our community,” she added. “In multiple cases, we were unable to move forward with prosecution because victims could not be located or contacted.”

Advertisement

Stephanie Minter, 41, was killed on Monday after getting off of a bus in Virginia.  (Provided)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

An obituary for Minter described her as a “happy, jolly” person. 

“A beam of light in dark places,” the obituary states. 

Advertisement

Related Article

Suspect accused of killing sleeping passenger on Chicago train filmed himself carrying out attack: prosecutors

Read the full article from Here

Continue Reading

Southeast

Dem governor under fire after illegal alien allegedly stabs woman to death at bus stop: ‘Heinous’

Published

on

Dem governor under fire after illegal alien allegedly stabs woman to death at bus stop: ‘Heinous’

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

EXCLUSIVE: The Department of Homeland Security is calling on Virginia’s Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger to ensure local law enforcement cooperates with federal immigration officials by handing over an illegal immigrant with a lengthy criminal record who allegedly killed a woman earlier this week at a Virginia bus stop.

Police in Fairfax County, Virginia, arrested an illegal immigrant from Sierra Leone earlier this week on charges of second-degree murder after he allegedly fatally stabbed a woman, Stephanie Minter, 41, who was found dead at a local bus stop with several wounds to the upper body. 

The alleged suspect, Abdul Jalloh, 32, also has a criminal history of more than 30 arrests, according to DHS, including for rape, malicious wounding, assault, identity theft, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, assault and pick-pocketing.   

The request from the Trump administration comes after the newly elected Democratic governor of Virginia signed an executive order to end cooperation between federal immigration officials and state and local law enforcement, a move several Democratic Party governors have taken recently amid President Donald Trump’s move to increase deportation operations around the country. 

Advertisement

The DHS request asking Virginia officials to cooperate with ICE also comes after an illegal immigrant allegedly murdered someone just days after being released from jail for a separate crime in December.

Abdul Jalloh, 32, and Gov. Abigail Spanberger  (Department of Homeland Security/Getty Images)

“We are calling on Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger and Virginia’s sanctuary politicians to commit to not releasing this murderer and violent career criminal from their jail without notifying ICE,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis. 

“This illegal alien’s murder of an innocent, beautiful American woman came less than 24 hours before Governor Spanberger’s demonization of ICE law enforcement. This heinous criminal is a perfect example of why we need cooperation from sanctuary jurisdictions and the importance of third country removals for the safety of the American people.”

Spanberger’s representatives did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

Advertisement

Jalloh entered the United States illegally in 2012, according to DHS, and immigration officials lodged an immigration detainer against him in 2020, whereupon he was granted a final order of removal by a judge who said he could be removed to any country other than Sierra Leone. 

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT WITH PRIOR DEPORTATION SHOOTS DEPUTY IN CHEST, DIES AFTER EXCHANGE: DHS

Protesters, using whistles to alert neighborhoods to ICE activity, face off with Minneapolis police officers in Minneapolis Jan. 24, 2026.  (Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)

DHS indicated that ICE cooperation to ensure Jalloh’s deportation is evident after a case Fox News covered in December when a criminal illegal alien from El Salvador, Marvin Morales-Ortez, 23, allegedly killed a man just a day after Fairfax County jail officials let him go. 

The immigrant from El Salvador had been in custody on charges of malicious wounding and brandishing a gun, but police released him after the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, led by George Soros-backed prosecutor Steve Descano, dropped the charges. 

Advertisement

Fox News Digital reached out to the Fairfax County Sheriff’s office to inquire about why the man had not been handed over to ICE. 

The sheriff’s office said, “ICE was aware of Morales-Ortez’s incarceration and elected not to seek a judicial warrant to ensure he remained in custody.

Marvin Morales-Ortez, who is living in the country illegally, was released from Fairfax County custody and then allegedly committed a murder the next day. (Fairfax County Police Department/Getty Images)

“The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office follows all local, state and federal laws when determining whether a person is subject to release from the ADC,” the sheriff’s office told Fox News Digital at the time. “Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is automatically notified any time a person is booked into the ADC.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP 

Advertisement

The same sheriff’s office did not get back to Fox News Digital’s media inquiry for this story on DHS urging officials to cooperate with federal officials. 

Related Article

Georgia lawmaker calls for ICE surge after Savannah teacher allegedly killed by illegal immigrant

Read the full article from Here

Continue Reading

Southeast

Illegal immigrant arrested after showing up to Florida Border Patrol office for contract IT work

Published

on

Illegal immigrant arrested after showing up to Florida Border Patrol office for contract IT work

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

FIRST ON FOX: An illegal immigrant who reported to a U.S. Border Patrol site in Florida to perform some Information technology contractual work was arrested when authorities were made aware of his citizenship status, officials said. 

Angel Camacho, a Venezuelan citizen, reported to a USBP center in Dania Beach, Florida, Jan. 6 to do some IT work when U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials began vetting him, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told Fox News Digital. 

During its investigation, it was revealed Camacho was in violation of U.S. immigration laws, authorities said. 

Angel Camacho reported to a Florida U.S. Border Patrol center to perform contractual work when he was arrested, a Department of Homeland Security official said.  (Getty Images )

Advertisement

“CBP vets all external visitors before allowing them to enter secure facilities to ensure safety and operational integrity,” DHS Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement. 

“During the vetting process, CBP uncovered this individual was a tourist visa overstay in the country for over five years.”

SCHUMER, DEMS AGAIN BLOCK DHS FUNDING, FORCE STATE OF THE UNION SHOWDOWN

This photo shows a U.S. Border Patrol patch on a border agent’s uniform in McAllen, Texas, Jan. 15, 2019. (Suzanne CordeiroAFP via Getty Images)

Camacho was arrested and transferred to ICE custody, Bis said. 

Advertisement

His criminal history includes theft and resisting a Florida Highway Patrol officer, officials said. Federal authorities have nabbed several illegal immigrants in the process of trying to obtain employment in law enforcement and education. 

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

One Sierra Leone citizen was recently arrested as he was training to become a Pennsylvania corrections officer. 

Another illegal immigrant, Ian Roberts, served as the former superintendent of Iowa’s largest district, Des Moines Public Schools, before he was arrested by ICE. 

Advertisement

Related Article

ICE detains New Orleans police recruit after immigration judge signed removal order following his hiring

Read the full article from Here

Continue Reading

Trending