Tag: scotus

SCOTUS unanimous: Nessel v. Enbridge Line 5 case belongs in state court

Published on April 22nd, 2026 by - Blog Posts, Reports & Media Releases

Traverse City, Mich. — In a victory for the State of Michigan and its allies opposing the continued operation of the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline through the Straits of Mackinac, the Supreme Court of the United States has issued a unanimous decision that Nessel v. Enbridge will be heard in state rather than federal court. At issue was Enbridge’s attempt to move the lawsuit to federal court after it missed the 30-day deadline to do so by more than two years (in fact, Enbridge waited 887 days).

In June 2024, the federal Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision to send Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s 2019 lawsuit back to state court where it started. The Sixth Circuit held that Enbridge’s removal of the lawsuit to federal court was untimely and unjustified. Enbridge then appealed that decision to the US Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments in the case (Enbridge Energy, LP v. Nessel) on February 24.

In the opinion authored by Justice Sonia Sotomayor for the unanimous court, Sotomayor wrote that “Enbridge’s counterarguments are not persuasive.”

Flow Water Advocates has supported AG Nessel throughout the nearly-seven year procedural odyssey, including in its 2023 amicus brief urging the Sixth Circuit to remand the lawsuit back to state court.

“We are confident that once there is a trial on the merits in the proper state court venue, Attorney General Dana Nessel will successfully argue that the State of Michigan has the legal authority and duty to protect the Great Lakes from a potential catastrophic Line 5 pipeline oil spill,” said Liz Kirkwood, executive director of Flow Water Advocates. “Today’s unanimous decision from the US Supreme Court brings an end to Enbridge’s years-long delay campaign to move the case to a venue it perceives to be friendlier to the company’s ultimate goal of keeping oil profitably flowing through the heart of the Great Lakes — the large majority of which is bound for Canadian markets.”

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Flow Water Advocates is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Traverse City, Michigan. Our mission is to ensure the waters of the Great Lakes Basin are healthy, public, and protected for all. With a staff of legal and policy experts, strategic communicators, and community builders, Flow is a trusted resource for Great Lakes advocates. We help communities, businesses, agencies, and governments make informed policy decisions and protect public trust rights to water. Learn more at FlowWaterAdvocates.org.

Enbridge appeals Line 5 decision to U.S. Supreme Court: Our statement

Published on July 1st, 2025 by - Blog Posts

July 1, 2025
Kacey Cook, Flow Staff Attorney

In June 2024, the federal Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision to send Attorney General Dana Nessel’s 2019 suit Nessel v. Enbridge back to state court where it started. The Sixth Circuit held that Enbridge’s removal of AG Nessel’s lawsuit to federal court, more than two years after it was filed, was untimely and unjustified. Enbridge’s attempt to take the lawsuit to federal court came well after the deadline for removal, and the Sixth Circuit ruled that the delay could not be justified on any of the grounds cited by Enbridge or the lower court.

Enbridge appealed that decision to the US Supreme Court, which has now agreed to hear the case. The appeal serves to prolong the operation of the company’s pipeline through the heart of the Great Lakes–allowing Enbridge to continue to profit, while our shared freshwater resources remain at risk.

Under Michigan public trust law, the State has the paramount responsibility, and power, to protect the Great Lakes and their bottomlands from occupation by private projects that present unacceptable risks to these shared public resources.

It is difficult to imagine a project that presents greater risks than Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline–pumping approximately 23-million gallons of oil through the Straits of Mackinac every day with the ever-present potential for a catastrophic oil spill.

In 2020, Governor Whitmer issued a Notice of Revocation and Termination of the project’s easement across the Straits, citing both violations of the public trust doctrine and Enbridge’s “longstanding, persistent, and incurable violations of the Easement’s conditions and standard of due care.”

Today’s news is the most recent development in Enbridge’s years-long campaign of defiance against the State’s enforcement of Michigan law. Flow Water Advocates will continue to monitor all developments in the federal courts, and we stand with the State of Michigan in its efforts to ensure that this important case enforcing Michigan’s public trust doctrine is properly heard in State court.

Flow is also closely following Michigan agencies’ careful review of Enbridge’s state permit applications for the proposed tunnel project and applaud the State’s continued insistence that Enbridge provide all of the information required for a proper review of the risks associated with the unprecedented megaproject.