Mich. Judge Refuses to Move Line 5 Pipeline Case to State Court

Abstract

August 22, 2022 Annemarie Mannion KEYWORDS Enbridge / Pipeline Order Reprints No Comments A lawsuit in Michigan seeking to shut down the Line 5 pipeline that carries oil and other products across four miles along the floor of the Straits of Mackinac will not be moved from federal to state court. U.S. District Judge Janet Neff on Aug. 18 denied a request by the administration of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to shift the lawsuit from federal to state court. "The court reinforces the importance of a federal forum in deciding the disputed and substantial federal issues at stake, with uniformity and consistency," Neff wrote in her decision. Neff also called the effort to remove the case to state court an "Attempt to gain an unfair advantage through the improper use of judicial machinery."This was the second time that Neff turned down a request to move a case seeking to halt the pipeline's continued operation from federal to state court. "This properly keeps the Michigan Attorney General's lawsuit in federal court," said Enbridge spokesperson Ryan Duffy in an email to ENR on Aug. 22. He said the judge's decision "Underscores that the state's attempts to shut down this critical energy infrastructure raise important federal questions of interstate commerce, exclusive federal jurisdiction over pipeline safety and the serious ramifications for energy security and foreign affairs if the state and the U.S. government were to defy an international treaty with Canada that has been in place since 1977." Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed the lawsuit in question in 2019 in Ingham County Circuit Court. Neff also denied a previous request to move a different case filed by Whitmer in 2020 to state court.