Attorney General Gentner Drummond’s lawsuit seeking to stop a proposed aluminum smelter near Inola is headed back to Rogers County District Court after a federal judge ruled the case does not belong in federal court.
U.S. District Judge Sara E. Hill found the companies behind the proposed project failed to establish that Drummond’s state-law claims raised a substantial federal question. The lawsuit alleges the proposed smelter would create a public nuisance and threaten the health of area residents, livestock and natural resources. The court did not rule on those allegations or the merits of the lawsuit.
“This case belongs in Oklahoma state court under Oklahoma law,” Drummond said. “I will continue to fight for the people of Inola and for what is in the best interests of all Oklahomans.”
Drummond filed the lawsuit in June against Century Aluminum Company and Aluminum Oklahoma LLC, doing business as Oklahoma Primary Aluminum. While Hill granted Drummond’s request to return the case to Rogers County, she denied his request for the companies to pay the state’s attorney fees and costs associated with the case’s removal to federal court.
