In case you missed it...
| Date | 01 May 2022 |
52022 ENVIRONMENTAL LAW REPORTER 52 ELR 10413
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT . . .
In the Courts
"In the Courts" contains full summaries of court cases reported in ELR Update during the month of March 2022. They are
listed under the following categories: Climate Change, Governance, Land Use, Natural Resources, Toxic Substances,
Water, and Wildlife. The summaries are then arranged alphabetically by case name wi thin each category. To access ELR's
entire collection of court cases and summaries, visit https://www.elr.info/judicial.
CLIMATE CHANGE
Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Healey, No. 18-1170, 52 ELR 20033
(2d Cir. Mar. 15, 2022). e Second Circuit armed in
part and dismi ssed in part a district court ru ling in a lawsuit
brought by an oil company again st the New York and Mas-
sachusetts attorneys general. e company had argued t he
states’ investigations into the company’s alleged ly deceptive
speech concerning clim ate change were motivated by view-
point discrimination and violated its constitutional rights.
e district court d ismissed the claims against both states,
nding that the suit against Massachusetts was precluded
by res judicata and that the suit against New York failed to
state a claim. e appellate court found that the company’s
claims aga inst New York were moot because the state had
concluded its investigation while the appea l was pending,
and that its claims against Massachusetts were barred under
the doctrine of res judicata bec ause the company could have
pursued the relief it now seeks in an e arlier state proceeding
arising from the same u nderlying events. It dismissed the
company’s appeal as to New York and armed the district
court’s dismissal as to Massachusetts.
Louisiana v. Biden, No. 22-30087, 52 ELR 20035 (5th Cir. Mar.
16, 2022). e Fifth Circuit granted the Biden Administration’s
motion to stay a district court r uling enjoining federal agencies from
implementing interim estimates on the socia l cost of greenhouse gas
emissions. States had arg ued the president lacked authority to pro-
mulgate and enforce the esti mates; that the estimates were based on
a methodology that did not tak e into account statutory consider-
ations and ignored best regul atory practices; and t hat the estimates
violated the Energy Policy and Conser vation Act, the CA A, NEPA,
the Mineral Lea sing Act, and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands
Act. e district cour t found that the states had demonstrated mul-
tiple, independently sucient grounds to vacate the estimate, and
granted their motion for a preliminar y injunction. e Administra-
tion moved to stay, arguing the states lacked st anding, that t heir
claims were not ripe, and that the estimates were not nal agenc y
action under the APA. e appellate court found the Administra-
tion made a strong showing that they were l ikely to succeed on the
merits, and that the bala nce of harms favored granti ng the stay. It
stayed the injunction pending appeal.
GOVERNANCE
Glynn Environmental Coalition v. Sea Island Acquisition,
LLC, No. 21-10676, 52 ELR 20028 (11th Cir. Mar. 3, 2022).
e Eleventh Circuit vacated a dist rict court’s dismissal of a
challenge to a developer’s lling of a wetla nd near its hotel
in southeastern Georgia. A n individual and environmental
groups argued the developer did not comply with the C WA’s
permitting process bec ause it lled the wetla nd for the pur-
pose of landscaping and not constructing a commercial
structure; that it did not comply with Georgia’s conditional
certication; that t he authorization under the permit it was
issued had expired; and t hat the authorization was null a nd
void because the developer “intentionally a nd maliciously
misled” the Army Corps of Engineers. e developer moved
to dismiss for lack of stand ing and failure to state a claim.
e district court d ismissed the suit for lack of sta nding on
the ground that plainti s failed to allege an injury-in-fact.
e appellate court found that t he individual adequately al-
leged a concrete injury to her aesthetic interest because “she
has viewed the wetland, derived aesthetic pleasu re from its
natural habitat and veget ation, and now derives less pleasure
from unnatural g rasses and lawn placed on the wetland.” It
vacated the district court’s dismissal and rema nded for fur-
ther proceedings.
LAND USE
Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Re fuges v. Haaland, Nos.
20-35721, 20-35727, and 20-35728, 52 ELR 20034 (9th
Cir. Mar. 16, 2022). e Ninth Circuit, 2-1, reversed a dis-
trict court ruling that set aside a land exchange agreement
between the Secreta ry of the Interior and an Al aska Native
village company t hat wished to build a road through Izem-
bek National Wildlife Ref uge to allow acces s to a nearby
city. e district court had held the ag reement failed to ad-
vance the stated purposes of the Alaska National Interest
Lands Conser vation Act (ANILCA), that the Secret ary’s de-
cision to enter into the agreement failed to provide adequate
reasoning for depart ing from the position of his predecessor
Copyright © 2022 Environmental Law Institute®, Washington, DC. Reprinted with permission from ELR®, http://www.eli.org, 1-800-433-5120.
To continue reading
Request your trial