Fifteen AGs Filed Amicus Brief in Support of Michigan’s Motion to Remand Litigation Over Line 5 Pipeline to State Court

MARCH 30, 2021

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison led a coalition of 15 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in support of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s motion to remand litigation over Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline to state court. The amicus brief argued that the case was improperly removed to state court, and emphasized that federal courts “do not have original jurisdiction to determine claims by states that seek to vindicate state property rights under a state’s public trust doctrine, even if those claims involve a federally regulated pipeline.” The brief also emphasized that Michigan’s claim in the case “is based solely on Michigan’s state public trust doctrine,” and “is not a federal common-law claim in disguise.” The governors of Kentucky and Louisiana joined in filing the amicus brief.