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Responsible Offshore Development Alliance v. U.S. Department of the Interior
Responsible Offshore Development Alliance v. U.S. Department of the Interior ↗
23-20511st Cir.1 entry
Filing Date
Type
Action Taken
Document
Summary
Responsible Offshore Development Alliance v. U.S. Department of the Interior ↗
1:22-cv-11172D. Mass.1 entry
Filing Date
Type
Action Taken
Document
Summary
10/12/2023
Decision
Defendants' and Vineyard Wind's motions for summary judgment granted and plaintiffs' motions for summary judgment denied.
The federal district court for the District of Massachusetts rejected challenges to federal agencies’ and officials’ actions in connection with the approval of a wind energy project off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, Massachusetts. With respect to the National Environmental Policy Act claims—including failure to consider climate change impacts—of an alliance representing commercial fishing interests, the court found that the alliance did not have statutory standing because it asserted only economic injuries.
Responsible Offshore Development Alliance v. U.S. Department of the Interior ↗
1:22-cv-00237D.D.C.6 entries
Filing Date
Type
Action Taken
Document
Summary
06/27/2022
Decision
Motions to transfer granted and motion to intervene granted.
The federal district court for the District of Columbia granted federal defendants’ motion to transfer lawsuits challenging the Vineyard Wind offshore wind-turbine project to the District of Massachusetts. The court found that the lawsuit could properly have been brought in the District of Massachusetts because much of the federal agency work at issue occurred in regional offices in Massachusetts and because more than 60 of the vessels and businesses that were members of a plaintiff organization that opposed transfer appeared to be located in Massachusetts. The court further found that two of the public interest factors—the interest in having local controversies decided locally and judicial economy—favored transfer due to parallel litigation already pending in the District of Massachusetts and the local impacts of the project. In addition, the court found that two private interest factors (where the case arose and the defendants’ forum choice) weighed in favor of transfer, while the plaintiffs’ forum choice weighed weakly against transfer and other private interest factors were neutral.
03/03/2022
Reply
Reply memorandum filed in support of defendants' motion to transfer venue to District of Massachusetts.
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02/25/2022
Opposition
Opposition filed by plaintiff to federal defendants' motion to transfer venue.
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02/18/2022
Motion
Memorandum filed in support of defendants' motion to transfer venue to the District of Massachusetts.
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