United States Ninth Circuit

In an action brought by groups concerned that the Navy's potential use of high-intensity, mid-frequency active sonar will harm various species of marine mammals, an order granting plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction and imposing certain conditions on the completion of certain Navy training exercises in the waters off the coast of California is affirmed where the district court neither relied on erroneous legal premises nor abused its discretion in finding: 1) plaintiffs showed a strong likelihood of success on the merits, as well as the possibility of irreparable injury if relief is not granted; 2) they showed that the balance of hardships tips in their favor in light of the injunction's narrowly-tailored mitigation measures; and 3) the public interest is advanced by a preliminary injunction that imposes adequate mitigation measures.

Appellate Information

• Decided 02/29/2008
• Published 03/03/2008

Judges

• Before:  B. FLETCHER, D.W. NELSON, and STEPHEN REINHARDT, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Alan J. Heinrich, Esq., Irell & Manella, LLP, Los Angeles, CA, Cara Horowitz, Esq., Natural Resources Defense Council, Santa Monica, CA, for Plaintiffs-Appellees., Kathryn E. Kovacs, Esq., Allen M. Brabender, Esq., DOJ-U.S. Department of Justice Environment & Natural Resources Division, Washington, DC, Michael R. Eitel, Esq., DOJ-U.S. Department of Justice Environment & Natural Resources Division, Denver, CO, for Defendants-Appellants.