Tag Archives: First Circuit Court of Appeals
Vineyard Wind Withstands Another Legal Challenge
Another attempt to halt Vineyard Wind through the courts fell short last week when a federal court dismissed an appeal by a fishermen’s organization and a Rhode Island seafood dealer. A panel of judges with the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s decision on Dec. 5, saying the group’s claims that the federal government mishandled the approval process for the wind farm were unfounded. The decision is one of several that Vineyard Wind, which aims to build 62 turbines to the south of the Island, has weathered in recent years, keeping the project’s approvals from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management intact. Seafreeze Shoreside, a Rhode Island-based seafood dealer, the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association, the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance and other groups filed the appeal after their claims were rejected by the U.S. District Court in Boston in 2023. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:47
Lobster industry groups mount uncertain First Circuit fight on fishery’s future
Arguing before a skeptical First Circuit, an attorney representing a group of Maine lobster fishermen said a federal rule designed to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale targets a portion of the ocean where there are no right whales. “We need to figure out where the whales are and target those areas,” said attorney Alfred Frawley IV at oral arguments Tuesday before the federal appeals court in Boston. But the First Circuit appeared to give Frawley a frosty reception, saying at one point that the record lacked evidence that the seasonal closure would lead to lost lobster boats and jobs across the coast of Maine. Judge Sandra Lynch asked Frawley if he had approached attorneys for the Marine Fisheries Service,,, Frawley began to make two points, but Lynch cut him off: “Will you answer my question rather than making a speech?” the Clinton appointee said. Frawley then said his clients were not allowed to sit on the take-reduction team. >click to read< 16:18
Fisherman appeals case shifting monitor costs
New Hampshire fisherman David Goethel is looking to the federal appeals court to overturn a federal judge’s ruling that allows NOAA Fisheries to impose the cost of at-sea monitoring on Northeast groundfish permit holders. Goethel, represented by lawyers from the Cause of Action watchdog group, has filed an appeal with the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, hoping to reverse U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Laplante’s July 29 ruling in Goethel’s lawsuit that granted summary judgment to the federal government. “NOAA lacks the authority to require industry funding for at-sea monitors. Its decision to do so violates federal statutes and the Constitution,” said Alfred Lechner Jr., president and chief executive officer of Cause of Action as well as a former federal judge. “Our clients had a legal right to their day in court at the time they filed suit. The decision holding otherwise is an error. An appeal from the decision of the district court has been filed.” Read the story here 08:13
