Lexon Insurance Company, Inc. v. Chevron U.S.A. Inc., et al.

The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OSCLA), 67 Stat. 462, 43 U.S.C. § 1331 et seq., extends the “Constitution and laws and civil and political jurisdiction of the United States” to the outer Continental Shelf (OCS), id. § 1333(a)(1)(A), and permits gaps in existing federal law to be filled using state law in limited circumstances, id. § 1333(a)(2)(A). Interpreting that statute, this Court recently made clear that where federal law addresses an issue, state law is “necessarily inconsistent” and “inapplicable” because there is no gap to fill. Parker Drilling Mgmt. Servs., Ltd. v. Newton, 587 U.S. 601, 610, 614 (2019) (OSCLA “does not adopt state law where there is no gap to fill”). And in Gulf Offshore Co. v. Mobil Oil Corp., 453 U.S. 473 (1981), this Court observed that the OSCLA makes no distinction between judge-made law and statutory law. Id. at 487–88. This case raises an issue not presented in Parking Drilling and not clearly resolved in Gulf Offshore. The question presented is: Whether long-established federal common law— specifically, a paying surety’s right to equitable subrogation, see Pearlman v. Reliance Ins. Co., 371 U.S. 132 (1962)—is part of the “laws . . . of the United States” extended to the OCS under 43 U.S.C. § 1333(a)(1)(A), precluding the application of inconsistent state law restricting that right.