Indigenous Environmental Network et al v. United States Department of State et al

Filing 37

ORDER; IT IS ORDERED that the opposed motion 32 for intervention as of right of Applicant TransCanada is hereby GRANTED. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendant-Intervenor TransCanada must file its responsive pleading or motion within seven days afte r the deadline by which Federal Defendants must file their responsive pleading or motion. The Court will impose briefing word limits on all parties, including intervenors at the preliminary pretrial conference, which will be scheduled after responsive pleadings or motions are filed in this case. Signed by Judge Brian Morris on 5/25/2017. (TLO)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MONTANA
GREAT FALLS DIVISION

INDIGENOUS ENVIRONMENTAL
NETWORK and NORTH COAST
RIVER ALLIANCE,

CV-17-29-GF-BMM

Plaintiffs,
vs.
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT
OF STATE; THOMAS A SHANNON,
JR., in his Official Capacity as U.S.
Under Secretary of State; UNITED
STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE
SERVICE, a federal agency; JAMES
W KURTH, in his Official Capacity as
Acting Director of the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service; and RYAN KEITH
ZINKE, in his Official Capacity as
Secretary of the Interior,

ORDER

Defendants.

Applicant for intervention, TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, LP and
TransCanada Corporation (collectively “TransCanada”), has moved for leave of
Court to intervene as of right pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 24(a)(2).

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(Doc. 32.) Plaintiffs opposed the motion. Id. at 2, n.1. Federal Defendants did not
oppose. Id.
Under Fed. R. Civ. P. 24(a)(2), to intervene as of right, an applicant must
show that “( 1) it has a significant protectable interest relating to the property or
transaction that is the subject of the action; (2) the disposition of the action may, as
a practical matter, impair or impede the applicant's ability to protect its interest; (3)
the application is timely; and ( 4) the existing parties may not adequately represent
the applicant's interest.” In re Estate of Ferdinand E. Marcos Human Rights Litig.,
536 F.3d 980, 984 (9th Cir. 2008) (internal quotations and citation omitted).
TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, LP, a subsidiary of TransCanada, is the
owner and permit applicant for the Keystone XL pipeline at issue in this case.
TransCanada likely has similar, but not necessarily the same, interests as Federal
Defendants. The Applicant meets the standard for intervention as of right.
IT IS ORDERED that the opposed motion (Doc. 32) for intervention as of
right of Applicant TransCanada is hereby GRANTED.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendant-Intervenor TransCanada must
file its responsive pleading or motion within seven days after the deadline by
which Federal Defendants must file their responsive pleading or motion.

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The Court will impose briefing word limits on all parties, including
intervenors at the preliminary pretrial conference, which will be scheduled after
responsive pleadings or motions are filed in this case.
DATED this 25th day of May, 2017.

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