A district court granted summary judgment for EPA in a FOIA lawsuit brought by a nonprofit group. The group requested a 2018 draft version of the Agency's Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) formaldehyde assessment. EPA withheld the assessment under the deliberative process privilege, and the ...
A district court denied FWS' motion to dismiss a challenge to its authorization of 12 leopard import permits from hunts expected to occur in Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and Zambia. Environmental groups argued FWS' authorization violated the ESA by making a non-detriment finding without considering the facto...
A district court dismissed two Pennsylvania state senators' challenge to the Delaware River Basin Commission's imposition of a moratorium on gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing in the Delaware Basin. The senators argued, among other things, that the moratorium exceeded the Commission's authority. ...
The Ninth Circuit reversed summary judgment for FWS in a challenge to the Service's 2017 decision reversing its 2011 decision that the Pacific walrus qualified for listing under the ESA. An environmental group had argued the Service violated the APA by failing to sufficiently explain its change in p...
The Fourth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for a county in South Carolina in a lawsuit concerning the county's alleged taking of honey sellers' bees. The sellers argued their bees died after the county sprayed pesticide in an effort to kill mosquitoes, and thus constituted a Fifth Amendment taking...
The D.C. Circuit affirmed summary judgment for FWS in a lawsuit concerning its denial of a nonprofit group's permit applications to export four blue iguanas to a Danish zoo and to continue a captive-bred wildlife program at its Arizona facility. A district court saw no problem with FWS' denials and ...
A district court denied nonprofit groups' motion for summary judgment in a challenge to EPA's failure to consult with FWS and NMFS before announcing a temporary nonenforcement policy in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the policy having since been terminated, the groups sought to compel EPA t...
A district court overrode the Biden Administration's objections to a lawsuit challenging President Trump's issuance of a presidential permit in 2019 for construction of a cross-border segment of the Keystone XL pipeline. Environmental groups argued the former president violated the Property Clause, ...
In an unpublished opinion, the D.C. Circuit affirmed dismissal of a challenge to FWS' failure to provide notice and comment on its guidelines for creating species status assessments. An environmental group had argued that FWS violated the ESA by failing to put the guidelines through notice and comme...
The Ninth Circuit reversed summary judgment for FWS in a challenge to the Service's rule requiring that affected states receive a 30-day notice of intent to file a petition to list an endangered species. An environmental group argued that FWS violated the ESA by impermissibly requiring the 30-day no...