Empire Leaseholder LLC v. Burgum

The federal government filed a motion requesting that the court stay the cases through April 1. The government said that the stop work order had been issued “to facilitate review of any potential mitigation measures to address then-new information from the Department of War that implicates national security concerns,” that the stop work order would expire on March 22, and that the end of the review “may result in a further decision from BOEM.” The government argued that despite uncertainty regarding the timing of future BOEM action, proceeding with litigation would potentially waste the court’s and the parties’ resources.. New York, NYSERDA, and the Empire Wind Project developers opposed the stay. Both the New York State plaintiffs and the developers argued that a stay would result in continued commercial uncertainty that would threaten the project.

In a lawsuit filed in federal court in the District of Columbia, the developers of Empire Wind Project offshore Brooklyn filed a lawsuit challenging BOEM’s December 22, 2025 suspension of the Empire Wind Project, which is located on the outer continental shelf approximately 14 miles offshore New York. The developers allege the suspension order is arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion; that BOEM acted without observing procedure required by law; and that the order contrary to OCSLA. In addition, the developers asserted that the suspension order violated their right under the Fifth Amendment to due process.