A district court denied a motion to preliminarily enjoin the Forest Service from constructing a recreation trail across private property located in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area. The property owners argued that construction of the trail required activities directly adjacent to designated cri...
A district court vacated DOI's decision to enter into a land exchange agreement to facilitate construction of a road through Izembek National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. Environmental groups argued that the agreement, which DOI acknowledged represented a change in the agency's policy, failed to provi...
In an unpublished opinion, the Ninth Circuit affirmed in part and dismissed in part a challenge to the Forest Service's decision to authorize logging in Idaho's Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests. Environmental groups argued the decision violated the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) and the ...
The Sixth Circuit affirmed a district court ruling that denied city and state officials' motions to dismiss residents' bodily integrity claim stemming from the water contamination crisis in Flint, Michigan. City officials argued they were entitled to qualified immunity because they acted on professi...
A district court dismissed for lack of standing a challenge to sugarcane producers' annual burning of sugarcane fields. Nearby landowners argued that the burning has led to a diminution of their property values and that they have suffered and continue to suffer damage to their property, unnecessary ...
The Ninth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for the Forest Service in a challenge to its issuance of grazing authorizations on allotments in the Malheur National Forest. Environmental groups argued that the Service violated the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) when it failed to "analyze and sho...
The D.C. Circuit ordered the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Park Service to issue regulations for commercial sightseeing flights over 23 national parks. Nonprofit groups sought to compel the agencies to regulate air tours at seven parks where they had injured members, as required b...
A district court dismissed for lack of standing a lawsuit challenging the Executive Order that requires agencies to repeal two existing rules for each new rule promulgated. California, Minnesota, and Oregon argued that the order delayed or resulted in the undertaking of four rulemakings and that the...
The Trump Administration has aggressively rolled back prior administrations’ environmental regulations and natural resource policies, and critics of this agenda have turned to the judiciary. A remarkable string of federal court decisions has faulted the Administration for failing to follow the standard for agency policy change articulated in Federal Communications Commission v. Fox Television Stations, Inc.
A district court held invalid an amendment to the city of Toledo's charter that gave legal rights to Lake Erie. A local family farm argued the amendment was unconstitutionally vague and thus that it should be invalidated. The court found that the environmental rights of the lake and its watershed to...