California High-Speed Rail Authority v. U.S. Department of Transportation

The California High-Speed Rail Authority brought a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Railroad Administration and the heads of those agencies in the federal district court for the Eastern District of California challenging the termination of more than $4 billion in federal grant funding for the California high-speed rail program, which the complaint described as “a crucial part of California’s long-term strategic planning, not only to address critical transportation needs, but also greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, as well as to spur economic growth in California’s Central Valley and across the State.” The complaint asserted that termination of the Cooperative Agreements pursuant to which funding was awarded and de-obligation of funds awarded under them was arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act.