A panel of federal appellate judges seemed to disagree Monday on whether a legal challenge from several oil refineries to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's denial of their petition for a renewable fuel standards exemption belongs in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

During oral arguments, Fifth Circuit Judge Patrick Higginbotham asked the refineries' attorney if their case should instead be heard in the D.C.-based appeals court, where several similar challenges have been lodged.