Space Age Fuel, Inc. v. Brown

The court found that the plaintiffs' proposed amended complaint was improper because it added new parties and added a new request for injunctive relief, which "would expand and dramatically alter the scope of the original pleadings." The court also found that the proposed amendments did not cure the plaintiffs' standing problem and that they failed to state a valid claim against the new defendants.

Plaintiffs filed a lawsuit in Oregon Circuit Court alleging that Governor Kate Brown's executive order directing state agencies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions violated separation of powers principles in the Oregon Constitution. The plaintiffs contended that after the legislature failed to pass climate change legislation in 2019 and 2020, the governor issued the executive order, which purported to establish the emissions reduction goals that were included in the legislation that did not pass. The plaintiffs sought declarations that provisions of the executive order violated separation of power principles in the Oregon Constitution and/or exceeded the authority delegated to the executive branch.