The Department of Justice wants an appellate court to quash the youth climate lawsuit Juliana v. US, which was greenlit last year for trial in Oregon.
In a petition filed at the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Feb. 2, the Biden administration said Judge Ann Aiken of the US District Court for the District of Oregon was wrong to resurrect Juliana by letting an amended complaint proceed to trial.
Judge Aiken allowed the case to proceed after a Ninth Circuit decision dismissed the original complaint in 2020. Aiken’s ruling violated the Ninth Circuit’s mandate, according to the DOJ.
“Plaintiffs—a group of young people and a putative representative of future generations—seek sweeping relief from the Judicial Branch, not the political Branches, that would install the district court in a supervisory role over the federal government’s response to climate change in its entirety,” the Justice Department said in its petition.
Twenty-one youth plaintiffs sued the government in 2015, claiming it was infringing on their constitutional rights to life by promoting the production of climate change-inducing fossil fuel projects. The lawsuit has spanned across three presidential administrations.
In this petition, the DOJ wants the case dismissed again entirely, and for a stay in Oregon district court proceedings while the Ninth Circuit considers the case.
The case is United States of America v. United States District Court for the District of Oregon, Eugene, 9th Cir., No. 24-684, Petition 2/2/24.
To contact the reporter on this story:
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Learn more about Bloomberg Law or Log In to keep reading:
See Breaking News in Context
Bloomberg Law provides trusted coverage of current events enhanced with legal analysis.
Already a subscriber?
Log in to keep reading or access research tools and resources.