Big oil companies are concerned about facing a biased jury in a trial starting this month regarding the alleged loss of coastal land in a Louisiana town. The jurors in this case could potentially benefit financially from a ruling against the corporations.
Shell Oil Co., BP America Production Co., and Hilcorp Energy Co. have petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to change the venue of the trial due to concerns over due process. They argue that the town of Cameron Parish, where the trial will take place, is made up of approximately 4,000 residents who could financially benefit from a ruling against the companies.
The companies state in their legal filing that this situation threatens their federal due-process rights to have a fair trial. They argue that every juror in Cameron Parish has a personal and financial interest in a verdict against the companies because any award will be used to restore land loss in the Parish and create economic opportunities.
The U.S. Supreme Court denied the change of venue request. A lawyer representing the companies did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
City officials claim that the companies violated Louisiana’s State and Local Coastal Resources Management Act of 1978 in their operations in the area. They believe the companies should pay for the alleged damage caused by land loss.
The city officials also argue that there is no evidence that residents in Cameron Parish would be biased against the energy companies. They state that the oil industry employs many residents in the Parish who likely have personal interests at odds with the interests of the Parish.
According to court documents, 80% of the town’s land is coastal and it is at risk of losing up to 40% of its land area in the next 50 years due to major hurricanes. The population has already decreased from 9,991 to 5,080.
Lower courts in the state refused to change the trial venue, stating that the companies did not provide enough evidence of potential juror bias.
This litigation is one of the first to go to trial where multiple localities in the state have sued oil companies for contributing to coastal erosion.
David Vladeck, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center, believes that the oil companies will receive a fair trial due to the fail safes in the judicial system that prevent juror bias.
“There are multiple fail safes. To start, the judge will oversee the selection of the jury and will be quite attentive to any manifestation of bias. Then the judge will assess the fairness of the jury’s decision, and has the power to decide to void a jury if the judge thinks that the jury was wrong. And finally, there are multiple levels of appellate review, and appellate courts will scrutinize a jury verdict if there is any evidence of bias,” Mr. Vladeck said.