Samuel Alito Sits Out Another Supreme Court Decision

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito sat out another Supreme Court decision, most recently issued on Friday in Chevron USA Inc. V Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana.

The case in an 8-0 decision decided to vacate and remand the case, which sought to hold oil and gas companies liable for damage to the Louisiana coast. Ultimately, the case focused not on the matter of responsibility but whether there was a right to move the case from a state to federal court.

Alito did not participate in the decision, having recused himself in January after disclosing a financial interest in ConocoPhillips, the parent company of Burlington Resources, which was party to the case in lower court.

The conservative justice initially participated when the High Court agreed over the summer to hear the dispute, but later filings prompted his withdrawal, according to a letter from Supreme Court clerk Scott Harris.

This is just one of now dozens of cases from which Alito has recused himself due to conflicts of interest due to his or his family’s stock portfolio: Bloomberg in 2024 reported that Alito or his wife own stock in companies such as Raytheon Co., ConocoPhillips, and a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, to name a few of the two-dozen companies comprising his investments.

As such, Alito had recused himself from 64 cases between 2021 and 2024 alone due to his ownership of shares in those companies – far more than other justices did, according to the outlet.

Newsweek reached out by submission form to the Supreme Court on Friday for further information and comment.

The justices backed an opinion delivered by Justice Clarence Thomas, with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson filing a concurring opinion in the judgement. The court disagreed with Louisiana’s argument and determined that Chevron had satisfied various requirements to remove the suit to a different court.

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This story was originally published April 17, 2026 at 11:31 AM.