Snowlands Network et al v. United States Forest Service
Filing
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ORDER signed by Judge Morrison C. England, Jr. on 10/4/2012 GRANTING applicants' 13 Motion to Intervene as a matter of right into all phases of lawsuit, subject to restrictions enumerated above. (Marciel, M)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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SNOWLANDS NETWORK, WINTER
WILDLANDS ALLIANCE, and
CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL
DIVERSITY,
No. 2:11-cv-02921-MCE-DAD
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PlaintiffS,
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ORDER1
v.
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UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE,
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Defendant.
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and
THE INTERNATIONAL SNOWMOBILE
MANUFACTURER’S ASSOCIATION,
et. al.,
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Applicants for Intervention.
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Because oral argument would not be of material assistance,
the Court ordered this matter submitted on the briefs. E.D. Cal.
Local Rule 230(g).
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Plaintiffs are three environmental organizations contending
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that Defendant United States Forest Service violated the National
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Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”), 42 U.S.C. § 4321, et seq., by
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failing to adequately analyze the Over Snow Vehicle Program’s
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(“Program”) environmental impact.
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a Motion to Intervene filed on behalf of several individuals and
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associations interested in recreational snowmobile use or
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snowmobile sales (“Applicants”).
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Presently before the Court is
The Program represents the combined efforts of Defendant and
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the California Department of Parks and Recreation to facilitate
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snowmobile use in eleven National Forests (“forests”).
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Program, Defendant enters into contracts with California and
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third parties regarding trail grooming and general maintenance.
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Plaintiffs allege that the Program increases the number of
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snowmobiles operated in the forests, which harms wildlife and
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causes additional air pollution and noise.
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Plaintiffs argue that Defendant must perform a thorough study of
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the Program’s harmful environmental consequences.
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Under the
As a result,
Applicants claim that Plaintiffs’ success in this lawsuit
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could affect the Program’s very existence and, without the
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Program, Applicants’ lawful interests in snowmobile use and sales
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would be restricted.
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its actions in general terms, Applicants request intervention to
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assert their more narrow interests.
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Unlike Defendant, which will likely defend
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Applicants argue that they should be allowed to intervene as a
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matter of right under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 24(a).2
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Alternatively, Applicants seek permissive intervention pursuant
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to Rule 24(b).
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lawsuit’s remedy phase, Plaintiffs oppose Applicants’ motion
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regarding the liability phase, contending that Applicants fail to
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meet that stage’s intervention requirements.
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position on the intervention motion itself, but if the Court
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grants intervention, Defendant seeks several restrictions.
While not disputing intervention into the
Defendant takes no
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ANALYSIS
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A.
Intervention as a Matter of Right under Rule 24(a)
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An applicant has the right to intervene under Rule 24(a) if
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1) the intervention request is made in a timely fashion; 2) a
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“significantly protectable” interest related to the subject
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matter of the litigation is asserted; 3) disposition of the
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matter may impair or impede the applicant’s interest in the
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absence of intervention; and 4) if the applicant’s interest is
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not adequately represented by existing parties.
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Network v. United States Army Corps of Eng’rs, 222 F.3d 1105,
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1113-14 (9th Cir. 2000).
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Wetlands Action
Until recently, private parties could not intervene as a
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matter of right in an action alleging NEPA violations on grounds
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that such parties do not have the requisite significantly
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protectable interest in NEPA compliance actions.
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Unless otherwise noted, all further references to Rule or
Rules are to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
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Kootenai Tribe of Idaho v. Veneman, 313 F.3d 1094, 1108 (9th Cir.
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2004).
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private parties from intervention as a matter of right in NEPA
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lawsuits.
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1178 (9th Cir. 2011).
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the importance of fulfilling Rule 24(a)’s requirements and
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advancing a liberal policy favoring intervention, even in NEPA
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lawsuits.
However, recent case law no longer categorically bans
Wilderness Soc’y v. U.S. Forest Serv., 630 F.3d 1173,
The Wilderness Society court emphasized
Id. at 1179.
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1.
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Applicants have made a timely intervention
request.
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“Timeliness is to be determined from all the circumstances”
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in the court’s “sound discretion.”
NAACP v. New York, 413 U.S.
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345, 366 (1973).
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the complaint and a motion to extend the deadline for responsive
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pleadings.
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being prejudiced.
The only significant pleadings in this case are
Additionally, the Court cannot foresee other parties
As a result, the request is timely.
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2.
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Applicants have a significant protectable interest
related to the subject matter of this litigation.
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A proposed intervenor has “a ‘significant protectable
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interest’ in [the] action if (1) [it asserts] an interest that is
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protected under some law, and (2) there is a ‘relationship’
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between [that] legally protected interest and the plaintiff’s
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claims.”
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United States v. City of Los Angeles, 288 F.3d 391, 398 (9th Cir.
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2002) (quoting Donnelly v. Glickman, 159 F.3d 405, 409 (9th Cir.
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1998)).
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use and enjoyment in the forests, is indeed a protectable
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interest that should be safeguarded because “[i]t is the policy
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of the Congress that the national forests are established and
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shall be administered for outdoor recreation.”
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Applicants’ efforts to preserve snowmobile access exhibit a nexus
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between the protected interest and Plaintiffs’ claims.
Here, Applicants contend that their interest, snowmobile
16 U.S.C. § 528.
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Additionally, Applicants manufacturing and selling snowmobiles
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and snowmobile parts have an economic interest in continued
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snowmobile use pursuant to the Program.
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demonstrate a significant protectable interest.
Thus, Applicants
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3.
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Disposition of this matter, may, as a practical
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matter, impair or impede the Applicants’ ability
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to protect their interests.
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Contrary to Plaintiffs’ assertion, Applicants’ interests may
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suffer impairment if the Court prevents Applicants’ intervention
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into this lawsuit’s liability phase.
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utmost importance, especially because significant decisions may
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be settled before the remedy stage begins.
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case, Applicants demonstrate their interest in challenging any
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change to Defendant’s involvement in the Program.
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whether environmental impact reports are warranted may very well
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necessitate allowing intervention into the liability phase.
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Each phase can be of the
In this particular
Establishing
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Courts should allow intervention for the liability phase
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when the “[intervenor] may be foreclosed from bringing certain
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. . . arguments if it is not permitted to intervene until the
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liability [sic] phase.”
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San Francisco, 2011 WL 2532436 (N.D. Cal. 2011).
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are successful in the underlying suit and Applicants can only
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intervene in the remedy phase, Defendant may simply decide to end
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snowmobile practices altogether rather than perform costly NEPA
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studies.
Wild Equity Institute v. City of
If Plaintiffs
Additionally, because liability decisions could be
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different for each forest, thwarting Applicants’ access to the
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liability phase effectively inhibits their opportunity to contest
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where the Court will employ each remedy.
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Furthermore, the Court agrees with Applicants that this case
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is similar to Wildlands CPR Inc. v. U.S. Forest Service.
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case, the plaintiffs were also environmental organizations
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opposing snowmobile use in a national forest.
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Inc. v. U.S. Forest Serv., 2011 WL 578696 (D. Mont. 2011).
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too claimed that the defendant Forest Service failed to perform
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the requisite NEPA analysis.
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the snowmobile associations’ motion to intervene, without
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limiting intervention to only the remedy phase.
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those plaintiffs did not oppose intervention, the court
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nonetheless could have determined that the snowmobile
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associations were not entitled to intervention into the liability
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phase.
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restrictions on snowmobiling in the forests.
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Id.
Wildlands CPR
They
Ultimately, the court granted
Id.
Although
Plaintiffs in the case at hand implicitly seek
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In that
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As such, their objectives run counter to Applicants’ interests,
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and this Court, like the Wildlands CPR Inc. court, believes that
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intervention into the liability phase properly allows Applicants
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to fully protect their interests.
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third requirement for intervention as a matter of right.
Therefore, Applicants meet the
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4.
Existing parties may not adequately protect
Applicants’ interests.
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Applicants need only show that “the representation of [its]
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interest ‘may be’ inadequate.”
Trbovich v. United Mine Workers
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of America, 404 U.S. 528, 538 (1972).
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consider this minimal burden satisfied when “the interests of
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[intervenors] were potentially more narrow and parochial than the
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interests of the public at large.”
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Competitive Dump Truck Transp. v. Mendonca, 152 F.3d 1184, 1190
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(9th Cir. 1998).
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making decisions for the benefit of the entire population.
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result, Applicants necessarily set forth more specific goals and
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objectives than the much broader interests that Defendant must
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take into account.
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and not Defendant, providing the most tenacious and concentrated
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defense of their narrow interests.
Furthermore, courts
Californians for Safe &
Defendant is a regulatory agency charged with
As a
One can also reasonably foresee Applicants,
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With regard to the lawsuit’s liability phase, Applicants
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persuasively argue that their interests may not be adequately
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represented by Defendants.
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remedy phase essentially prevents Applicants from taking part in
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settlement negotiations.
Only permitting intervention into the
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To this end, Applicants express concern that Defendant is not
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sufficiently advocating Applicants’ interests in the
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negotiations.
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knowledge of the OSV Program and history of volunteering at the
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forests puts them in a unique position to assist with settlement
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discussions.
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intervention into the remedy phase alone may leave their
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interests unprotected by existing parties.
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Applicants also claim that their intimate
Accordingly, Applicants demonstrate that
In sum, the Court finds that Applicants satisfy the four
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requirements for intervention as a matter of right.
Applicants’
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intervention request is timely and adequately demonstrates a
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significant protectable interest that could be impeded by this
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litigation’s disposition.
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current parties may not sufficiently protect this interest.
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Furthermore, Applicants should be permitted to intervene not only
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in the lawsuit’s remedy phase, but the liability phase as well.
Applicants also establish that the
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B.
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Permissive Intervention under Rule 24(b)
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District courts have broad discretion to allow permissive
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intervention.
Spangler v. Pasadena City Bd. of Educ., 552 F.2d
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1326, 1329 (9th Cir. 1977).
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matter of right is warranted, the Court need not address
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Applicants’ alternative argument that permissive intervention is
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also indicated.
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However, because intervention as a
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C.
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Defendant’s Proposed Restrictions on Intervention
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Defendant requests that the Court subject Applicants’
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intervention to four restrictions.
First, Defendant seeks to
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prevent Applicants from briefing issues already addressed by
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Defendant.
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therefore grants the request.
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to prohibit Applicants from conducting any discovery or
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supplementing the administrative record.
The Court considers this request appropriate and
Second, Defendant asks the Court
Any request for
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discovery or to supplement the administrative record should be
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made in a separate motion.
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request because it is premature.
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As such, the Court denies Defendant’s
Third, Defendant calls for each party to bear its own costs
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and fees.
The Court denies this request to address fees and
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costs because it is premature.
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Applicants be assigned separate time limits with respect to oral
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arguments.
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therefore grants the request.
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Finally, Defendant asks that
The Court considers this request reasonable and
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CONCLUSION
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For the foregoing reasons, the Court grants Applicants’
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Motion to Intervene (ECF No. 13) as a matter of right into all
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phases of the lawsuit, subject to the restrictions enumerated
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above.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: October 4, 2012
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_____________________________
MORRISON C. ENGLAND, JR.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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