32 ELR 20477 -- Route 26 Land Development Ass'n v. United States

Route 26 Land Development Ass'n v. United States

No. CIV A 88-0643-SLR (182 F. Supp. 2d 382) (UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF DELAWARE January 25, 2002)

ELR Digest

The court denies a land association's motion to reopen a 1990 declaratory judgment action in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 531 U.S. 159, 31 ELR 20382 (2001) (SWANCC). The 1990 declaratory action was dismissed because the court found it lacked subject matter jurisdiction under the Administrative Procedure Act and accordingly never reached any substantive issues. Conversely, in SWANCC, the Supreme Court decided the substantive issue of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' jurisdiction involving isolated wetlands and migratory birds. Even a liberal construction of Fed. R. Civ. P. Rule 60(b)(6) does not result in the SWANCC decision having any effect on the court's prior decision. The court, therefore, denies the motion.

[A prior decision in this litigation is published at 21 ELR 21199.]

The full text of this decision is available from ELR (2 pp., ELR Order No. L-449).

Counsel for Plaintiff
Harold W. Purnell
Tunnell & Raysor
30 Pine St., Georgetown DE 19947
(302) 856-7313

Counsel for Defendant
Richard Andrews
U.S. Attorney's Office
1201 Market St., Ste. 1100, Wilmington DE 19801
(302) 573-6277/6220

[OPINION OMITTED BY PUBLISHER IN ORIGINAL SOURCE]