A federal appeals court on March 3 refused to revive a Louisiana levee board’s lawsuit blaming dozens of oil and gas companies for damage to the state’s fragile coast, a major victory for energy companies and their political supporters who cast the suit as an attack on a vital state industry. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling upheld a federal judge’s 2015 decision in favor of energy companies that argued the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East lacked legal standing to bring its damage claims, which could have cost the oil companies billions of dollars.