ELR Citation: ELR 20223
No(s). 74-3490 (9th Cir. Mar 17, 1975)

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reduces from $4,500,000 to $1,000 the bond that plaintiffs must post in order for a previously granted injunction pending appeal to take effect in an action to compel preparation of a NEPA impact statement prior to expansion of the San Francisco International Airport. The fact that the court has already granted the injunction implies that plaintiff-appellants are likely to succeed on the merits, and this circumstance, along with the recognition that in NEPA Congress sacrificed some efficiency and economy in order to further a strong policy of environmental protection, leads the court to conclude that the $4,500,000 bond imposed by the district court is unreasonable. The court notes that in this case a private organization and several citizens, with limited resources, obtained an interlocutory injunction against construction by a governmental entity, a situation that is materially different from cases where a state, with ample resources to post a large bond, obtains an interlocutory injunction against construction by a private party.

Counsel for Plaintiffs
John D. Leshy
Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.
664 Hamilton Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94301

William P. Hoffman
Ferguson, Hoffman, Henn & Mandel
1365 Columbus Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94133

Counsel for Defendants
Thomas M. O'Connor City Attorney
206 City Hall
San Francisco, CA 94102