Other LanguagesFederal Litigation Summary
Last updated: 9/22/23
The following is a summary of the total cases filed against the federal government since January 20, 2021.
Summary of federal lawsuits filed between January 30, 2017 and January 19, 2021 can be found here. The Washington Attorney General’s Office won 55 federal cased filed during this period and lost two. Many of these cases remain ongoing. These cases were primarily funded through recoveries in successful lawsuits, and not general fund appropriations.
| Total cases against the federal government since Jan. 20, 2021 | 11 |
| Total cases led by Washington State Attorney General's Office | 5 |
| Total cases led by other state attorneys general | 6 |
| Legal Victories - Completed | 5 |
| Legal Victories - Appealed or could be Appealed | 1 |
| Cases Lost - Appealed or could be Appealed | 0 |
| Cases Lost - Completed | 0 |
Legal Victories - Completed
| Washington v. U.S. National Archives & Records Administration | |
| Subject: | Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request on National Archives in Seattle |
| Date Filed: | 4/27/21 |
| Leading State(s): | Washington |
| Joining States: | None |
Overview
Washington filed four lawsuits to force the U.S. General Services Administration, the U.S. National Archives & Records Administration, the Public Buildings Reform Board and the Office of Management & Budget to produce records that the AGO requested through FOIA regarding the Archives facility and its condition. The FOIA requests were made on 02/25/21.
FINAL RESOLUTION: In February 2023, all four agencies that Washington submitted records requests to produce the records and paid a total $143,000 to resolve the lawsuits.
| Washington v. Office of Management & Budget | |
| Subject: | Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request on National Archives in Seattle |
| Date Filed: | 4/27/21 |
| Leading State(s): | Washington |
| Joining States: | None |
Overview
Washington filed four lawsuits to force the U.S. General Services Administration, the U.S. National Archives & Records Administration, the Public Buildings Reform Board and the Office of Management & Budget to produce records that the AGO requested through FOIA regarding the Archives facility and its condition. The FOIA requests were made on 02/25/21.
FINAL RESOLUTION: In February 2023, all four agencies that Washington submitted records requests to produce the records and paid a total $143,000 to resolve the lawsuits.
| Washington v. Public Buildings Reform Board | |
| Subject: | Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request on National Archives in Seattle |
| Date Filed: | 4/27/21 |
| Leading State(s): | Washington |
| Joining States: | None |
Overview
Washington filed four lawsuits to force the U.S. General Services Administration, the U.S. National Archives & Records Administration, the Public Buildings Reform Board and the Office of Management & Budget to produce records that the AGO requested through FOIA regarding the Archives facility and its condition. The FOIA requests were made on 02/25/21.
FINAL RESOLUTION: In February 2023, all four agencies that Washington submitted records requests to produce the records and paid a total $143,000 to resolve the lawsuits.
| Washington v. General Services Administration | |
| Subject: | Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request on National Archives in Seattle |
| Date Filed: | 6/11/21 |
| Leading State(s): | Washington |
| Joining States: | None |
Overview
Washington filed four lawsuits to force the U.S. General Services Administration, the U.S. National Archives & Records Administration, the Public Buildings Reform Board and the Office of Management & Budget to produce records that the AGO requested through FOIA regarding the Archives facility and its condition. The FOIA requests were made on 02/25/21.
FINAL RESOLUTION: In February 2023, all four agencies that Washington submitted records requests to produce the records and paid a total $143,000 to resolve the lawsuits.
| New York et al. v. NHTSA | |
| Subject: | Vehicle Fuel Economy Standards Penalty |
| Date Filed: | 2/16/21 |
| Leading State(s): | New York, California |
| Joining States: | Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington |
Overview
Washington joined 14 other attorneys general seeking review from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on the Trump Administration’s last-minute regulation to reduce penalties for automakers that fail to meet corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards. The new rule attempts to repeal a rule adopted under the Obama Administration which imposed an inflation-adjusted penalty of $14 for every tenth of a mile-per-gallon that an automaker falls below the CAFE standards, reducing the penalty by more than half to $5.50 per tenth of a mile-per-gallon.
FINAL RESOLUTION: The Biden Administration repealed the Trump-era rule. As a result, the challenging states voluntarily dismissed their case on June 17, 2022.
Legal Victories - Appealed or Could Be Appealed
| Washington et al. v. FDA et al. | |
| Subject: | Mifepristone restrictions |
| Date Filed: | 2/23/23 |
| Leading State(s): | Washington, Oregon |
| Joining States: | Nevada, Delaware, Arizona, Illinois, Connecticut, Colorado, Vermont, New Mexico, Michigan, Rhode Island, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C. |
Overview
On Feb. 23, 2023, Washington led a coalition of states challenging the Food & Drug Administration’s restrictions on prescribing and dispensing the abortion drug mifepristone, despite the drug’s longstanding FDA approval and extremely strong safety record. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, seeks to lift those restrictions, allowing for normal prescribing and distributing.
On April 7, 2023, the court granted our motion for a preliminary injunction, barring the FDA from reducing the availability of mifepristone in the states involved in the lawsuit.
Other Lawsuits
| New York, et al. v. U.S. Dep’t of Energy, et al. | |
| Subject: | Energy efficiency standards for furnaces and commercial water heaters |
| Date Filed: | 3/16/21 |
| Leading State(s): | New York |
| Joining States: | California, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, Massachusetts, Washington, D.C., City of New York |
Overview
On March 16, 2021, Washington and a coalition of states and municipalities filed a petition for review challenging a set of rules that “grandfather” inefficient technologies and designs, and further delay the adoption of updated energy efficiency standards for furnaces and water heaters in violation of statutory mandates.
The case is in abeyance pending new rulemaking by EPA to rescind the rules.
| New York et al. v. EPA | |
| Subject: | Dioxane “no unreasonable risk” determination |
| Date Filed: | 3/22/21 |
| Leading State(s): | New York |
| Joining States: | Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Washington, D.C., City of New York |
Overview
On March 22, 2023, Washington joined coalition challenging EPA’s January 2021 risk evaluation under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for the chemical 1,4-dioxane. EPA determined that the chemical poses no unreasonable risk to the general population and that eight specific “uses” of the chemical as a byproduct in consumer products also pose no unreasonable risks. States argue that EPA’s omission of exposure pathways covered in some regard by other federal environmental statutes did not comply with TSCA’s mandate to evaluate of the “full range of exposures.”
The case is being held in abeyance pending EPA’s reconsideration of the determination.
| California et al. v. U.S. Postal Service | |
| Subject: | Gas powered postal trucks |
| Date Filed: | 4/28/22 |
| Leading State(s): | California, New York, Pennsylvania |
| Joining States: | Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Washington, D.C., City of New York, Bay Area Air Quality Management District |
Overview
On April 28, 2022, Washington joined a group of states to file a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and the U.S. Postal Service, asserting that they violated federal environmental law when deciding in February to replace up to 165,000 vehicles with primarily gas-powered models rather than making a larger switch to electric vehicles.
The case is stayed pending the completion of a supplemental environmental review by the USPS.
| California et al. v. EPA | |
| Subject: | Aircraft particulate matter emission standards |
| Date Filed: | 1/20/2023 |
| Leading State(s): | California |
| Joining States: | Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Washington |
Overview
On Jan. 20, 2023, Washington joined other states to file a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to challenge to an EPA rule that sets inadequate particulate matter emissions standards and test procedures for aircraft. The states argue that EPA’s rule fails to regulate these emissions in a manner that results in reductions beyond business as usual and ignores available technology that makes further reductions feasible. Additionally, EPA’s analysis lacked adequate consideration of the impacts of particulate matter pollution on environmental justice communities.
The case is stayed pending the outcome of another, similar lawsuit.
| New York et al. v. Regan | |
| Subject: | Emission standards for residential woodstoves |
| Date Filed: | 9/21/2023 |
| Leading State(s): | New York |
| Joining States: | Alaska, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, Puget Sound Clean Air Agency |
Overview
On Sept. 21, 2023, Washington joined a coalition of 11 states and the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency to file a lawsuit against the federal Environmental Protection Agency for its failure to timely review and revise the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for residential wood stoves under the federal Clean Air Act. The federal Clean Air Act requires EPA to review and potentially revise the emission standards that have been established for stationary sources every eight years. The emission standards for residential wood stoves were last revised in March of 2015, and EPA has stated that it does not plan to finalize any revisions to those standards until the end of 2027.
Cases Lost - Appealed or Could Be Appealed
None
Cases Lost - Completed
None