United States Ninth Circuit

In a dispute over whether the federal government's policy for listing killer whales under the Endangered Species Act is invalid, a district court order is vacated where the case was moot because, since the district court's decision, the National Marine Fisheries Service issued a proposed rule that recommended listing the whale as a threatened species and ultimately issued a final rule listing it as an endangered species.

Appellate Information

• Argued 11/15/2006
• Decided 04/26/2007
• Published 04/26/2007

Judges

• Before ALFRED T. GOODWIN, DIARMUID F. O'SCANNLAIN, and RAYMOND C. FISHER, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Brent Plater, Center for Biological Diversity, San Francisco, CA, for the plaintiff-appellant, and filed briefs.


• For Appellees:
  
• M. Alice Thurston, Environment and Natural Resources Division, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, argued for the defendants-appellees;  Sue Ellen Woolridge, Assistant Attorney General, Keith Rizzardi and David Shilton, Environment and Natural Resources Division, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, Melanie J. Rowland, Office of the General Counsel, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, WA, and Benjamin C. Jesup, Office of the Solicitor, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC, were on the brief.