United States Ninth Circuit

In a second appeal in a dispute over the status of a road on U.S. Forest Service land in a Nevada county, denial of intervention to environmental groups, approval of a settlement of a Quiet Title Act claim, and dismissal of intervenors' cross-claims are vacated in part, reversed in part, and remanded where: 1) the district court must permit intervenors to participate as parties in advocating their position in the Quiet Title Act action; 2) thus, vacatur of the settlement was required; and 3) intervenors' cross-claims are reviewable under the APA, as they alleged that the Attorney General circumvented federal law by entering into the settlement agreement.

Appellate Information

• Argued 02/27/2008
• Decided 05/20/2008
• Published 05/20/2008

Judges

• SCHROEDER, Circuit Judge:, Before:  MARY M. SCHROEDER, D.W. NELSON and STEPHEN REINHARDT, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Elizabeth Ann Peterson, AUSA, Washington, DC, for plaintiff-counter-defendant-appellee United States of America., Kristin McQueary, Elko, NV, for defendant-appellee County of Elko., Michael S. Freeman, Denver, CO, for defendants-intervenors-appellants The Wilderness Society et al.