Litigation

54 posts

Two More Courts Uphold Building Decarbonization Laws, Rejecting EPCA Preemption

The number of court decisions upholding building decarbonization laws against federal preemption challenges is growing. After the Ninth Circuit’s decision in California Restaurant Association v. City of Berkeley (Berkeley), building decarbonization laws effectively prohibiting fossil-fuel appliances covered by the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 (EPCA) appeared to be […]

Court of Federal Claims: Jurisdiction, Remedies, and Unsuitability to Adjudicate the GGRF Lawsuit

Amid the Trump administration’s cancellation of billions in federal funding for climate action, the Sabin Center has covered the numerous cases that have been brought in federal district courts to challenge federal grant cancellations. Among those cases is Climate United Fund v. Citibank, a challenge to the Environmental Protection Agency’s […]

Court of Appeals Sets Aside Preliminary Injunction in GGRF Litigation

This is part of a blog series that examines the impact of federal grant termination litigation on the Inflation Reduction Act’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF). The first post in the series, which covers recent Supreme Court orders that have shaped the D.C. Circuit’s consideration of the GGRF case, can […]

Supreme Court Signals Challenges to Federal Grant Terminations are Contract Disputes

*This is the first post in a blog series that examines the impact of federal grant termination litigation on the Inflation Reduction Act’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF). At the time of this post, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit had issued a decision in Climate United […]

Uncertainty on Climate Risk Disclosure as Trump’s SEC Abdicates Responsibility

For a second time, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has passed the buck on its landmark climate disclosure rule, entitled The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors. The rule, finalized just last year, remains in legal limbo, as neither the SEC nor the courts seem eager to […]

The End of Nationwide Injunctions for Federal Funding Award Terminations

On Friday, June 27, the Supreme Court’s term closed and the Court handed down its final opinions, including in a case called Trump v. CASA. The CASA plaintiffs challenged President Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship, but the Court’s decision – which made no substantive holdings about citizenship or immigration […]

Local Laws and Lawsuits Targeting Renewables Becoming More Prevalent in the US

While federal policy can have a significant impact on renewable energy development, local policy—and local sentiment—can be just as consequential. Between 2018-2023, at least 30% of utility-scale wind and solar projects were cancelled during the siting process, largely because of community opposition, local ordinances, and zoning. For the last five […]

100 Days of Trump 2.0: The Inflation Reduction Act

This post is part of a new Climate Law Blog series, 100 Days of Trump 2.0, in which the Sabin Center offers reflections on the first hundred days of President Trump’s second term across a variety of climate-related topics. To read other posts from the series, which will roll out […]