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100 Montgomery Street, Suite1410 − San Francisco, CA 94104

Office: (628) 231-2500 − sheredling.com

March 9, 2020

Via ECF

Maria R. Hamilton

Clerk of Court

U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit

John Joseph Moakley U.S. Courthouse

1 Courthouse Way, Suite 2500

Boston, MA 02210

Re: State of Rhode Island v. Shell Oil Prods. Co., et al., No. 19-1818

Plaintiff-Appellee’s Citation of Supplemental Authorities

Dear Ms. Hamilton,

The State of Rhode Island (“State”), submits the recent decision in Mayor & City Council

of Baltimore v. BP P.L.C., et al., No. 19-1644, 2020 WL 1069444 (4th Cir., March 6, 2020)

(“Baltimore”) (Ex. A, attached). Fossil fuel manufacturer defendants there, including many

Defendants-Appellants, removed on the same eight bases asserted here, all of which the district

court rejected. 2020 WL 1069444 at *2–3. The Fourth Circuit affirmed, holding that its appellate

jurisdiction was limited to reviewing whether removal was proper under the federal officer

removal statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1442, and that removal under that provision unjustified.

The Baltimore court held “when a case is removed on several grounds, appellate courts

lack jurisdiction to review any ground other than the one specifically exempted from [28 U.S.C.]

§ 1447(d)’s bar on review.” Id. at *3. The court rejected arguments, raised by Defendants-

Appellants here, that Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A. v. Calhoun, 516 U.S. 199 (1996), or the

Removal Clarification Act of 2011 expanded the scope of review. See id. at *3–5. While

acknowledging that under Yamaha “orders” certified for interlocutory appeal under 28 U.S.C.

§1292(b) are reviewable in their entirety, the court concluded that “giving the word ‘order’ the

same meaning in the §1447(d) context would mandate review of issues that are ordinarily

unreviewable, period—even following a final judgment,” which §1447 prohibits. Id. at *4. Nor

did Congress intend the Removal Clarification Act to expand the scope of appellate jurisdiction

beyond the specific grounds for removal identified in the amended statute. Id.

The court then held the defendants’ bases for federal officer removal, identical to those

presented by Defendants-Appellants, did not show the defendants were “acting under” a federal

superior, or that their allegedly federal conduct was “related to” the plaintiff’s claims.

See id. at *7 (NEXCOM contracts); id. at *8–10 (Outer Continental Shelf leases); id. at *10–12

(Elk Hills Reserve).

Case: 19-1818 Document: 00117562591 Page: 1 Date Filed: 03/09/2020 Entry ID: 6323225

Maria R. Hamilton

Clerk of Court

March 9, 2020

Page 2

The Baltimore ruling rejects the exact arguments raised by Defendants-Appellants as to

the proper scope of this appeal and their tenuous justification for federal officer removal. The

Court should join the Fourth Circuit and affirm.

Respectfully submitted,

/s/ Victor M. Sher

Victor M. Sher

Sher Edling LLP

Counsel for Plaintiff-Appellee

cc: All Counsel of Record (via ECF)


EXHIBIT A


Mayor and City Council of Baltimore v. BP P.L.C., --- F.3d ---- (2020)

© 2020 Thomson Reuters. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. 1

2020 WL 1069444Only the Westlaw citation is currently available.United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.

MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OFBALTIMORE, Plaintiff – Appellee,

v.BP P.L.C.; BP America, Inc.; BP Products North

America, Inc.; Crown Central LLC; Crown CentralNew Holdings LLC; Chevron Corp.; ChevronU.S.A. Inc.; Exxon Mobil Corp.; ExxonMobil

Oil Corporation; Royal Dutch Shell, PLC;Shell Oil Company; Citgo Petroleum Corp.;ConocoPhillips; ConocoPhillips Company;

Phillips 66; Marathon Oil Company; Marathon OilCorporation; Marathon Petroleum Corporation;

Speedway LLC; Hess Corp.; CNX ResourcesCorporation; CONSOL Energy, Inc.; CONSOL

Marine Terminals LLC, Defendants – Appellants,and

Louisiana Land & Exploration Co.;Phillips 66 Company; Crown CentralPetroleum Corporation, Defendants.

Chamber of Commerce of the United Statesof America, Amicus Supporting Appellants.National League of Cities; U.S. Conference

of Mayors; International Municipal LawyersAssociation; Public Citizen, Inc.; Sheldon

Whitehouse; Edward J. Markey; State of Maryland;State of California; State of Connecticut; State

of New Jersey; State of New York; State ofOregon; State of Rhode Island; State of Vermont;

State of Washington; Mario J. Molina; MichaelOppenheimer; Bob Kopp; Friederike Otto; SusanneC. Moser; Donald J. Wuebbles; Gary Griggs; Peter

C. Frumhoff; Kristina Dahl; Natural ResourcesDefense Council; Robert Brulle; Center for Climate

Integrity; Chesapeake Climate Action Network;Justin Farrell; Ben Franta; Stephan Lewandowsky;

Naomi Oreskes; Geoffrey Supran; Union ofConcerned Scientists, Amici Supporting Appellee.

No. 19-1644|

Argued: December 11, 2019

|Decided: March 6, 2020

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Districtof Maryland, at Baltimore. Ellen L. Hollander, District Judge.(1:18-cv-02357-ELH)

Attorneys and Law Firms

ARGUED: Theodore J. Boutrous, Jr., GIBSON, DUNN &CRUTCHER LLP, Los Angeles, California, for Appellants.Victor Marc Sher, SHER EDLING LLP, San Francisco,California, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: Joshua S. Lipshutz,Washington, D.C., Anne Champion, GIBSON, DUNN &CRUTCHER LLP, New York, New York; Ty Kelly, JonathanBiran, BAKER, DONELSON, BEARMAN, CALDWELL& BERKOWITZ, P.C., Baltimore, Maryland, for AppellantsChevron Corporation and Chevron U.S.A., Inc. John B.Isbister, Jaime W. Luse, TYDINGS & ROSENBERG LLP,Baltimore, Maryland; Philip H. Curtis, Nancy G. Milburn,New York, New York, Matthew T. Heartney, John D.Lombardo, ARNOLD & PORTER KAY SCHOLER LLP,Los Angeles, California, for Appellants BP Products NorthAmerica Inc., BP P.L.C., and BP America Inc. Craig A.Thompson, VENABLE LLP, Baltimore, Maryland; TheodoreV. Wells, Jr., Daniel J. Toal, Jaren Janghorbani, NewYork, New York, Kannon Shanmugam, PAUL, WEISS,RIFKIND, WHARTON, GARRISON LLP, Washington,D.C., for Appellants Exxon

Mobil Corporation and ExxonMobil Oil Corporation. DavidC. Frederick, James M. Webster, III, Brendan J. Crimmins,Grace W. Knofczynski, KELLOGG, HANSEN, TODD,FIGEL & FREDERICK, P.L.L.C., Washington, D.C.; DanielB. Levin, Los Angeles, California, Jerome B. Roth, ElizabethA. Kim, MUNGER, TOLLES & OLSON LLP, San Francisco,California, for Shell Oil Company and Royal Dutch Shell,PLC. Warren N. Weaver, Peter Sheehan, WHITEFORDTAYLOR AND PRESTON LLP, Baltimore, Maryland;Nathan P. Eimer, Pamela R. Hanebutt, Ryan Walsh,Raphael Janove, EIMER STAHL LLP, Chicago, Illinois, forAppellant Citgo Petroleum Corporation. Michael A. Brown,NELSON MULLINS RILEY & SCARBOROUGH LLP,Baltimore, Maryland; Sean C. Grimsley, Jameson R. Jones,BARTLIT BECK LLP, Denver, Colorado, for AppellantsConocoPhillips and ConocoPhillips Company. JonathanChunwei Su, LATHAM & WATKINS LLP, Washington,D.C., for Appellant Phillips 66. Steven M. Bauer, MargaretA. Tough, LATHAM & WATKINS LLP, San Francisco,California, for Appellants ConocoPhillips, ConocoPhillips


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Company, and Phillips 66. Shannon S. Broome, SanFrancisco, California, Shawn Patrick Regan, New York, NewYork, Ann Marie Mortimer, HUNTON ANDREWS KURTHLLP, Los Angeles, California, for Appellants MarathonPetroleum Corp. and Speedway, LLC. Scott Janoe, Houston,Texas, Megan Berge, Emily Wilson, BAKER BOTTS L.L.P.,Washington, D.C., for Appellant Hess Corp. Michelle N.Lipkowitz, Thomas K. Prevas, SAUL EWING ARNSTEIN& LEHR LLP, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellants CrownCentral LLC and Crown Central New Holdings LLC.Kathleen Taylor Sooy, Tracy Ann Roman, Washington, D.C.,Honor R. Costello, CROWELL & MORING LLP, NewYork, New York, for Appellants CNX Resources Corporation,Consol Energy Inc., and Consol Marine Terminals LLC.Matthew K. Edling, SHER EDLING LLP, San Francisco,California; Andre M. Davis, Suzanne Sangree, BALTIMORECITY LAW DEPARTMENT, Baltimore, Maryland, forAppellee. Steven P. Lehotsky, Michael B. Schon, UNITEDSTATES CHAMBER LITIGATION CENTER, Washington,D.C.; Peter D. Keisler, C. Frederick Beckner III, RyanC. Morris, Tobias S. Loss-Eaton, SIDLEY AUSTIN LLP,Washington, D.C., for Amicus Chamber of Commerceof the United States of America. Michael Burger, SusanKraham, MORNINGSIDE HEIGHTS LEGAL SERVICES,INC., New York, New York, for Amici The National Leagueof Cities, The United States Conference of Mayors, andthe International Municipal Lawyers Association. Scott L.Nelson, Allison M. Zieve, PUBLIC CITIZEN LITIGATIONGROUP, Washington, D.C., for Amicus Public Citizen,Inc. Gerson H. Smoger, SMOGER & ASSOCIATES,P.C., Dallas, Texas; Robert S. Peck, CENTER FORCONSTITUTIONAL LITIGATION, P.C., Washington, D.C.,for Amici Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and EdwardJ. Markey. Brian E. Frosh, Attorney General, JoshuaM. Segal, Special Assistant Attorney General, Steven J.Goldstein, Special Assistant Attorney General, OFFICEOF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MARYLAND,Baltimore, Maryland, for Amicus State of Maryland. XavierBecerra, Attorney General, OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEYGENERAL OF CALIFORNIA, Sacramento, California, forAmicus State of California. William Tong, Attorney General,OFFICE OF ATTORNEY GENERAL OF CONNECTICUT,Hartford, Connecticut, for Amicus State of Connecticut.Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney General, OFFICE OF THEATTORNEY GENERAL OF NEW JERSEY, Trenton,New Jersey, for Amicus State of New Jersey. LetitiaJames, Attorney General, OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEYGENERAL OF NEW YORK, Albany, New York, for AmicusState of New York. Ellen F. Rosenblum, Attorney General,

OREGON DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Salem, Oregon,for Amicus State of Oregon. Peter F. Neronha, AttorneyGeneral, OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OFRHODE ISLAND, Providence, Rhode Island, for AmicusState of Rhode Island. Thomas J. Donovan, Attorney General,OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF VERMONT,Montpelier, Vermont, for Amicus State of Vermont. Robert W.Ferguson, Attorney General, OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEYGENERAL OF WASHINGTON, Olympia, Washington,for Amicus State of Washington. William A. Rossbach,ROSSBACH LAW, PC, Missoula, Montana, for Amici MarioJ. Molina, Michael Oppenheimer, Bob Kopp, Friederike Otto,Susanne C. Moser, Donald J. Wuebbles, Gary Griggs, PeterC. Frumhoff, and Kristina Dahl. Peter Huffman, NATURALRESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL, Washington, D.C.,for Amicus Natural Resources Defense Council. MarkA. Griffin, Amy Williams-Derry, Daniel P. Mensher,Alison S. Gaffney, KELLER ROHRBACK L.L.P., Seattle,Washington, for Amici Robert Brulle, Center for ClimateIntegrity, The Chesapeake Climate Action Network, JustinFarrell, Benjamin Franta, Stephan Lewandowsky, NaomiOreskes, Geoffrey Supran, and the Union of ConcernedScientists.

Before GREGORY, Chief Judge, and FLOYD andTHACKER, Circuit Judges.

Opinion

Affirmed by published opinion. Judge Floyd wrote theopinion in which Chief Judge Gregory and Judge Thackerjoined.

FLOYD, Circuit Judge:

*1 This appeal is about whether a climate-change lawsuitagainst oil and gas companies belongs in federal court. Butthis decision is only about whether one path to federal courtlies open. Because 28 U.S.C. § 1447(d) confines our appellatejurisdiction, the narrow question before us is whether removalof this lawsuit is proper under 28 U.S.C. § 1442, commonlyreferred to as the federal officer removal statute. And becausewe conclude that § 1442 does not provide a proper basis forremoval, we affirm the district court’s remand order.

I.

In July 2018, the Mayor and City of Baltimore (“Baltimore”)filed suit in Maryland state court against twenty-six


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multinational oil and gas companies (“Defendants”) that it

says are partly responsible for climate change. 1 Accordingto Baltimore, Defendants substantially contributed toclimate change by producing, promoting, and (misleadingly)marketing fossil fuel products long after learning the dangersassociated with them. Specifically, Baltimore alleges that,despite knowing about the direct link between fossil fueluse and global warming for nearly fifty years, Defendantshave engaged in a “coordinated, multi-front effort” to concealthat knowledge; have tried to discredit the growing bodyof publicly available scientific evidence by championingsophisticated disinformation campaigns; and have activelyattempted to undermine public support for regulation of theirbusiness practices, all while promoting the unrestrained andexpanded use of their fossil fuel products. See J.A. 43–47. As a result of Defendants’ conduct, Baltimore aversthat it has suffered various “climate change-related injuries,”J.A. 92, including an increase in sea levels, storms, floods,heatwaves, droughts, and extreme precipitation. So Baltimoresued Defendants to shift some of the costs of these injurieson to them.

The Complaint asserts eight causes of action, all foundedon Maryland law: public and private nuisance (Counts I–II);strict liability for failure to warn and design defect (CountsIII–IV); negligent design defect and failure to warn (CountsV–VI); trespass (Count VII); and violations of the MarylandConsumer Protection Act, Md. Code, Com. Law §§ 13-101to 13-501 (Count VIII). As relief, Baltimore seeks monetarydamages, civil penalties, and equitable relief. It does not “seekto impose liability on Defendants for their direct emissions ofgreenhouse gases” or to “restrain Defendants from engagingin their business operations.” J.A. 47.

*2 Two Defendants, Chevron Corporation and ChevronU.S.A. Inc. (collectively, “Chevron”), timely removed thecase to the United States District Court for the District ofMaryland.

Before continuing, a brief introduction to the various groundsfor removal is helpful. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1441, the generalremoval statute, “any civil action brought in a State court ofwhich the district courts of the United States have originaljurisdiction” may be removed by the defendants “to thedistrict court of the United States for the district and divisionembracing the place where such action is pending.” Id. §1441(a); see also, e.g., 28 U.S.C. § 1331 (conferring “originaljurisdiction” over cases that “aris[e] under” federal law). Inaddition, a civil action filed in state court may be removed to

federal court if a specialized removal provision applies, suchas the bankruptcy removal statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1452, or, aspertinent here, the federal officer removal statute, 28 U.S.C.§ 1442.

In this case, Chevron asserted eight grounds for removal.Four of those grounds were premised on federal-questionjurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1331. Chevron argued thatBaltimore’s claims arose under federal law within themeaning of § 1331 because they (1) were governed by federalcommon law, rather than state law; (2) raised disputed andsubstantial issues of federal law under Grable & Sons MetalProducts, Inc. v. Darue Engineering & Manufacturing, 545U.S. 308 (2005); (3) were completely preempted by the CleanAir Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 7401–7671q, as well as the foreignaffairs doctrine; and (4) were based on conduct or injuriesthat occurred on federal enclaves. The remaining groundsrelied on alternative jurisdictional and removal statutes,including: (1) the jurisdictional grant in the Outer ContinentalShelf Lands Act (“OCSLA”), 43 U.S.C. § 1349(b); (2) theadmiralty jurisdiction statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1333; (3) thebankruptcy removal statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1452; and (4) the

federal officer removal statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1442. 2

Baltimore then moved to remand the case back to statecourt under 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c), which some Defendants

opposed. 3 In its forty-five-page opinion granting Baltimore’sremand motion, the district court rejected each of the eighttheories asserted by Defendants in support of removal. Seegenerally BP P.L.C., 388 F. Supp. 3d 538.

*3 This timely appeal followed. Shortly after noticingtheir appeal, Defendants moved the district court to stay theexecution of the remand to state court pending this appeal.The district court denied the motion, as did this Court. TheSupreme Court likewise denied Defendants’ application for astay. See BP P.L.C. v. Mayor & City Council of Balt., 140 S.Ct. 449 (2019) (mem.).

II.

As in all cases involving an appeal of a remand order, we mustconfront the threshold question of our appellate jurisdiction.

“The authority of appellate courts to review district-courtorders remanding removed cases to state court is substantiallylimited by statute,” namely, 28 U.S.C. § 1447(d). PowerexCorp. v. Reliant Energy Servs., Inc., 551 U.S. 224, 229


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(2007). When a remand is based on a lack of subject-matterjurisdiction, see Carlsbad Tech., Inc. v. HIF Bio, Inc., 556U.S. 635, 638 (2009), review of the remand order “on appealor otherwise” is typically barred—however “manifestly” and“inarguably erroneous” it may be, In re Norfolk S. Ry.,756 F.3d 282, 287 (4th Cir. 2014) (internal quotation markomitted)—unless the case was removed pursuant to one oftwo specialized removal statutes. Specifically, § 1447(d)provides:

An order remanding a case to the Statecourt from which it was removed isnot reviewable on appeal or otherwise,except that an order remanding a caseto the State court from which it wasremoved pursuant to section 1442 or1443 of this title shall be reviewable byappeal or otherwise.

28 U.S.C. § 1447(d); see also 28 U.S.C. § 1442 (“Federalofficers or agencies sued or prosecuted”); 28 U.S.C. § 1443(“Civil rights cases”).

Therefore, as a matter of statutory interpretation, we mustfirst determine the scope of our appellate jurisdiction under §1447(d) de novo. See Stone v. Instrumentation Lab. Co., 591F.3d 239, 242–43 (4th Cir. 2009). As explained below, weconclude that such jurisdiction does not extend to the non-§1442 grounds that were considered and rejected by the districtcourt.

In Noel v. McCain, 538 F.2d 633 (4th Cir. 1976), this Courtheld that when a case is removed on several grounds, appellatecourts lack jurisdiction to review any ground other than theone specifically exempted from § 1447(d)’s bar on review.Thus, in that case, we dismissed an appeal to the extent thatit sought review of an order remanding a case for “failure toraise federal questions.” Id. at 635. “Jurisdiction to reviewremand of a § 1441(a) removal,” we explained, “is notsupplied by also seeking removal under § 1443(1).” Id.

Because the only ground for removal that is made reviewableby § 1447(d) here is federal officer removal under § 1442,Noel teaches that our jurisdiction is confined to this groundalone; it does not extend to the seven other grounds forremoval raised by Defendants, even though the district courtrejected them in the same remand order.

Notwithstanding our holding in Noel, Defendants insist thatwe have jurisdiction to review the entire remand order. Thatis so, Defendants say, because Noel has been effectivelyabrogated by the Supreme Court’s decision in Yamaha MotorCorp., U.S.A. v. Calhoun, 516 U.S. 199 (1996), as well as theRemoval Clarification Act of 2011, Pub. L. No. 112-51, 125Stat. 545 (codified in scattered sections of 28 U.S.C.). Theyare wrong.

*4 We begin with Yamaha. There, the Supreme Courtinterpreted the word “order” within the meaning of theinterlocutory appeal statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b). Inparticular, the Court addressed whether, under § 1292(b),federal courts of appeals may exercise jurisdiction overany question that is included within an order certifiedfor interlocutory appeal or, alternatively, whether suchjurisdiction is limited to review of the controlling questionof law identified by the district court—i.e., the question thatmakes an interlocutory appeal appropriate in the first place.See Yamaha, 516 U.S. at 204–05. Section 1292(b) provides,in relevant part, that if a district judge concludes that “anorder not otherwise appealable” in a civil action “involves acontrolling question of law as to which there is substantialground for difference of opinion,” and that “an immediateappeal from the order may materially advance the ultimatetermination of the litigation,” then the judge shall “so statein writing in such order.” 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b). “The Courtof Appeals ... may thereupon, in its discretion, permit anappeal to be taken from such order.” Id. Based on the text of§ 1292(b), the Yamaha Court held that appellate jurisdictionunder that statute “applies to the order certified to the court ofappeals, and is not tied to the particular question formulatedby the district court.” 516 U.S. at 205. As such, courts ofappeals “may address any issue fairly included within thecertified order because it is the order that is appealable.” Id.(internal quotation mark omitted).

Although at least one other circuit has found Yamahapersuasive in interpreting the word “order” under § 1447(d)as a matter of first impression, see Lu Junhong v. Boeing

Co., 792 F.3d 805, 810–13 (7th Cir. 2015), 4 we simplycannot conclude that our contrary interpretation in Noel isabrogated. True, the Supreme Court’s interpretation of theword “order” in Yamaha was entirely textual. But it did notpurport to establish a general rule governing the scope ofappellate jurisdiction for every statute that uses that word.See Yamaha, 516 U.S. at 205. And for good reason: Section1292(b) governs when an appellate court may review a


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particular question within its discretion. Section 1447(d), bycontrast, limits which issues are “reviewable on appeal orotherwise.” Put another way, § 1292(b) permits appellatereview of important issues before final judgment, but it doesnot make otherwise non-appealable questions reviewable.Reading “order” to authorize plenary review thus makessense in the § 1292(b) context, as § 1292(b) only affectsthe timing of review for otherwise appealable questions. Butgiving the word “order” the same meaning in the § 1447(d)context would mandate review of issues that are ordinarilyunreviewable, period—even following a final judgment. Seegenerally Yates v. United States, 135 S. Ct. 1074, 1082(2015) (“[I]dentical language may convey varying contentwhen used in different statutes, sometimes even in differentprovisions of the same statute.”).

The Removal Clarification Act of 2011 does not alterthis conclusion. The Act amended § 1447(d), among otherstatutes, “by inserting ‘1442 or’ before ‘1443.’ ” 125 Stat.at 546. Because the Act “retain[s] § 1447(d)’s reference toreviewable ‘orders,’ even after Yamaha,” Defendants contendthat Congress must have intended to authorize “plenaryreview” of such orders. Opening Br. 12. Although Defendantsare correct that courts may generally “presume” that Congressis “aware of judicial interpretations” of statutes, Jacksonv. Home Depot U.S.A., Inc., 880 F.3d 165, 171 (4th Cir.2018), we find Yamaha distinguishable for the reasons statedabove. Yamaha did not interpret the scope of § 1447(d), letalone involve a remand order. Cf. Jackson, 880 F.3d at 170–71 (interpreting word “defendant” to have same meaningin “interlocking removal statutes”). Moreover, to the extentthat Defendants attempt to argue that we are not bound byNoel’s interpretation of § 1447(d) because Noel was decidedbefore orders remanding cases removed pursuant to § 1442were made reviewable, see 538 F.2d at 635 (interpreting priorversion of § 1447(d) in which § 1443 was sole exception),we find that argument unpersuasive. Simply put, the fact thatCongress later added § 1442 as an exception to § 1447(d)’sno-appeal rule for remand orders does not undermine ourholding in Noel that appellate courts only have jurisdictionto review those grounds for removal that are specificallyenumerated in § 1447(d).

*5 In sum, Noel remains binding precedent in this Circuit. 5

Accordingly, “we dismiss this appeal for lack of jurisdiction,”id., insofar as it seeks to challenge the district court’sdetermination with respect to the propriety of removal basedon federal-question, OCSLA, admiralty, and bankruptcyjurisdiction.

III.

Having determined that we only have jurisdiction to reviewthe district court’s conclusion that removal was improperunder the federal officer removal statute, we now turn to thatissue.

“We review de novo issues of subject matter jurisdiction,including removal.” Ripley v. Foster Wheeler LLC, 841F.3d 207, 209 (4th Cir. 2016). Although Defendants bearthe burden of establishing jurisdiction as the party seekingremoval, see Dixon v. Coburg Dairy, Inc., 369 F.3d 811,816 (4th Cir. 2004), the federal officer removal statute mustbe “liberally construed,” Watson v. Philip Morris Co., 551U.S. 142, 150 (2007) (quoting Colorado v. Symes, 286 U.S.510, 517 (1932)). As such, the ordinary “presumption againstremoval” does not apply. See Betzner v. Boeing Co., 910 F.3d1010, 1014 (7th Cir. 2018).

The federal officer removal statute authorizes the removal ofstate-court actions filed against “any officer (or any personacting under that officer) of the United States or of any agencythereof, in an official or individual capacity, for or relatingto any act under color of such office.” 28 U.S.C. § 1442(a)(1). Its “basic purpose” is to protect against the interferencewith federal operations that would ensue if a state were ableto arrest federal officers and agents acting within the scopeof their authority and bring them to trial in a state courtfor an alleged state-law offense. Watson, 551 U.S. at 150(explaining that state-court proceedings may “reflect localprejudice against unpopular federal laws or federal officials,”“impede [enforcement of federal law] through delay,” or“deprive federal officials of a federal forum in which toassert federal immunity defenses” (internal quotation marksomitted)).

Thus, to remove a case under § 1442(a)(1), a privatedefendant must show: “(1) that it ‘act[ed] under’ a federalofficer, (2) that it has ‘a colorable federal defense,’ and (3) thatthe charged conduct was carried out for [or] in relation to theasserted official authority.” Sawyer v. Foster Wheeler LLC,860 F.3d 249, 254 (4th Cir. 2017) (first alteration in original)(citations omitted). Here, Defendants assert that Baltimore’sstate-court action is removable under the federal officerremoval statute “because the City bases liability on activitiesundertaken at the direction of the federal government.” BPP.L.C., 388 F. Supp. 3d at 567 (internal quotation mark


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