Forum
U.S. Supreme Court
Case Status
Decided
Docket Number
09-475
Term
2009 Term
Oral Argument Date
April 27, 2010
Lower Court Opinion
Questions Presented
1. Whether the Ninth Circuit erred in holding that NEPA plaintiffs are specially exempt from the requirement of showing a likelihood of irreparable harm to obtain an injunction.
2. Whether the Ninth Circuit erred in holding that a district court may enter an injunction sought to remedy a NEPA violation without conducting an evidentiary hearing sought by a party to resolve genuinely disputed facts directly relevant to the appropriate scope of the requested injunction.
3. Whether the Ninth Circuit erred when it affirmed a nationwide injunction entered prior to this Court's decision in Winter v. NRDC, 129 S. Ct. 365 (2008), which sought to remedy a NEPA violation based on only a remote possibility of reparable harm.
Case Updates
Supreme Court rules on federal court injunctions in NEPA cases
June 21, 2010
The Supreme Court held that a district court did not have the authority to issue an injunction to stop the deregulation of particular alfalfa seeds. The Supreme Court ruled that the district court failed to consider a less drastic alternative, such as a partial or temporary deregulation, and also noted that an injunction is a drastic remedy that should not be granted as a matter of course.
U.S. Chamber files amicus brief
March 08, 2010
NCLC urged the Supreme Court to review whether a court may issue an injunction based on a very low possibility of harm because the government will be examining the level of harm in a later Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) proceeding. In this case, a company sought deregulation of particular alfalfa seeds. Citing the Department of Agriculture’s failure to conduct an adequate EIS, a district court granted an injunction to stop the deregulation. NCLC argued that a court must have evidence of likely irreparable harm before issuing injunctive relief. NCLC also warned that if the decision below stands, federal judges will have unconstrained power to issue injunctions in National Environmental Policy Act cases.