Forum
U.S. Supreme Court
Case Status
Decided
Docket Number
Term
Cert. Denied
Lower Court Opinion
Questions Presented
Whether the Fifth Circuit erred by giving mere lip service to the rule of lenity and penal canon when imposing Clean Water Act civil fine liability under 33 U.S.C. § 1321(b) 7) on the owners of an offshore well, where oil discharged to federal waters not from the well itself but from a vessel and its associated equipment connected to the well.
Case Updates
Cert. petition denied
June 29, 2015
U.S. Chamber urges Supreme Court to review Fifth Circuit’s interpretation of Clean Water Act
April 23, 2015
In their brief, the U.S. Chamber and a broad coalition of national and local trade associations asked the U.S. Supreme Court to grant two certiorari petitions to review a decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit that adopted a confusing, overbroad, and internally inconsistent definition for an oil or hazardous substance “discharge” that triggers Clean Water Act civil penalties.
According to the amicus brief, the Fifth Circuit’s erroneous interpretation has introduced great uncertainty for investment in the Nation’s critical energy infrastructure—a deeply troubling reality independent of the Government’s request for a record-breaking $15 billion in civil penalties based on the ruling.
The U.S. Chamber filed this brief jointly with the National Association of Manufacturers, Business Roundtable, Texas Oil and Gas Association, Independent Petroleum Association of America, and American Petroleum Institute.
Christopher J. Walker of The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law served as counsel for the amici with the U.S. Chamber.
Case Documents
- Panel Opinion -- Deepwater Horizon (Fifth Circuit)_0.pdf
- Non-Dispositive Opinion -- Deepwater Horizon (Fifth Circuit).pdf
- Order Denying Rehearing En Banc -- Deepwater Horizon (Fifth Circuit).pdf
- Cert. Petition -- BP v. U.S. (SCOTUS).pdf
- German and British Industry Amicus Brief, et al. -- BP v. U.S. (SCOTUS).pdf
- U.S. Chamber Amicus Brief -- BP v. U.S. (SCOTUS).pdf
- WLF Amicus Brief -- BP v. U.S. (SCOTUS).pdf
- Brief amicus curiae of K. Feinberg, Administrator of the Gulf Coast Claims Facility -- BP v. U.S. (SCOTUS).pdf
- Britannic Majesty's Government Amicus Brief -- BP v. U.S. (SCOTUS).pdf
- Brief from Respondents Cobb Real Estate -- BP v. U.S. (SCOTUS).pdf
- Respondent Brief from Claims Administrator -- BP v. U.S. (SCOTUS).pdf
- Mobile Chamber Amicus Brief -- BP v. U.S. (SCOTUS).pdf
- Brief from Respondents Lake Eugenie Land and Development -- BP v. U.S. (SCOTUS).pdf
- Reply Brief of Petitioners BP -- BP v. U.S. (SCOTUS).pdf