ELR Citation: 54 ELR 20069
No(s). 24-684 (9th Cir. May 1, 2024)

The Ninth Circuit granted the Biden Administration's mandamus petition to dismiss an ongoing climate change lawsuit brought by 21 young people. Plaintiffs initially argued that the U.S. government, by failing to adequately respond to the threat of climate change, violated a "right to a stable climate system that can sustain human life." The appellate court had held plaintiffs lacked standing and remanded to the district court with instructions to dismiss. The district court allowed plaintiffs to amend their complaint, concluding it was not expressly precluded and holding that an intervening authority compelled a different result, and the government again moved to dismiss. The district court denied the motion, and the government petitioned for mandamus seeking to enforce the appellate court's earlier mandate. The appellate court found that neither the mandate's letter nor its spirit left room for amendment, and that nothing in Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski, 141 S. Ct. 792, 796 (2021), changed the law with respect to prospective relief, which was the only relief sought. It instructed the district court to dismiss the suit for lack of standing, without leave to amend.