U.S. Supreme Court Unanimously Rules AG Nessel’s Line 5 Lawsuit Belongs in State Court

LANSING – The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (PDF), agreeing 9-0 that Enbridge’s removal of Nessel v. Enbridge to federal court came too late—more than two years beyond the 30-day deadline for doing so, and therefore was improper.

Attorney General Nessel sued in state court to shut down the Line 5 dual pipelines in the Straits of Mackinac in 2019, arguing that the 1953 easement that authorized the location of Line 5 on the bottom-lands of the Straits of Mackinac has been invalid since its inception because it violates the Public Trust Doctrine, and that the presence of the pipelines in the Straits violates the Michigan Environmental Protection Act and constitutes a public nuisance. Enbridge removed the case from state court to a federal court following more than 2 years of litigation. Attorney General Nessel moved to remand the case back to state court. After the federal District Court denied the motion to remand, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held on appeal that the case should be remanded to state court. Enbridge then appealed the Sixth Circuit’s ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, which heard arguments on the matter of removal in February of this year, before issuing its opinion today.

“This unanimous ruling from the United States Supreme Court makes emphatically clear that our lawsuit against Enbridge belongs before the state court, where we’ve argued since 2019 that Line 5 does not have a legal right to the Straits bottom-lands,” said Attorney General Nessel.

“For far too long, following years of Enbridge’s delay tactics, the fear of a catastrophic spill from Line 5 has haunted our state, threatening to turn our most vital natural resource into a man-made disaster. I will continue to defend Michigan residents and our environment with every tool at our disposal to ensure our Great Lakes are safe for generations to come.”

The 30^th Circuit Court in Ingham County has stayed the Attorney General’s lawsuit seeking to enjoin the dual pipelines until the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals resolves the appeal filed by Governor Whitmer and the DNR Director on January 6, 2026, in Enbridge Energy, LP v. Whitmer, Appeal No. 26-1021. The Nessel v. Enbridge litigation will resume in state court once the Governor’s appeal is resolved.

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