## Facts

- MSOF Corporation and Jay Paul LeBlanc owned property in the Devil’s Swamp area of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana.
- Petro Processors of Louisiana, Inc. operated hazardous-waste disposal facilities in the 1960s and 1970s several miles from plaintiffs’ land; plaintiffs alleged toxic releases migrated onto their property.
- In 1980, the United States sued Petro Processors under CERCLA regarding the disposal sites.
- A 1984 federal consent decree required remediation and provided for long-term monitoring under the district court’s supervision.
- In 1994, plaintiffs filed a putative class action in Louisiana state court asserting Louisiana tort claims (including negligence and strict liability), seeking damages and injunctive relief for alleged contamination.
- Defendants removed to federal court, arguing the claims effectively arose under CERCLA and that the All Writs Act supported federal jurisdiction because of the existing consent decree.
- The district court denied remand and later granted summary judgment for defendants on the ground that plaintiffs had insufficient evidence of contamination on their land.
- Plaintiffs appealed, challenging federal subject-matter jurisdiction and the denial of remand.

## Issues

1. Whether removal was proper because plaintiffs’ state-law tort petition “arose under” CERCLA for federal-question jurisdiction purposes.
2. Whether CERCLA completely preempted plaintiffs’ state-law claims so as to convert them into federal claims.
3. Whether the All Writs Act, in light of a federal CERCLA consent decree governing remediation, supplied a basis to remove and retain jurisdiction over the state-law action.

## Decision

- The Fifth Circuit held the district court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction and removal was improper.
- Plaintiffs’ petition pleaded only state-law causes of action; references to federal regulations or a federal consent decree did not create federal-question jurisdiction under the well-pleaded complaint rule.
- CERCLA did not completely preempt the state-law tort claims; CERCLA’s saving provisions preserved state remedies.
- The All Writs Act did not provide an independent ground of jurisdiction and could not be used to bootstrap removal based on the existence of a related federal consent decree.
- The court vacated the federal merits disposition and directed the district court to remand the case to Louisiana state court.

## Legal Principles

- Federal-question jurisdiction exists only when a federal issue appears on the face of a properly pleaded complaint; background references to federal standards generally do not suffice.
- Complete preemption is limited and requires a congressional scheme that displaces state causes of action by converting them into federal claims; CERCLA does not do so for state tort remedies tied to contamination.
- The All Writs Act authorizes writs “in aid of” existing jurisdiction but does not create subject-matter jurisdiction or independently authorize removal.
- A federal consent decree concerning environmental remediation does not, without more, transform related private tort disputes into federal cases; absent a showing of interference with the decree, state courts may adjudicate such claims.

## Conclusion

The Fifth Circuit required remand because plaintiffs pleaded only Louisiana tort claims, CERCLA did not completely preempt those claims, and the All Writs Act could not supply removal jurisdiction merely because a federal consent decree governed remediation at related waste sites.


MSOF Corp. v. Exxon Corp., 295 F.3d 485 (5th Cir. 2002)