Team Kennedy vs Francisco V. Aguilar

Filing 11

ORDER - IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED that Somos PAC's motion to intervene (ECF No. 4 ) be, and the same hereby is, DENIED. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the plaintiff in this case, Team Kennedy, must file a status update with the court within 21 days of this order, informing the court why this case should not be dismissed as moot. Status Report due by 2/17/2025. Signed by Judge James C. Mahan on 1/27/2025. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - DLS)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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DISTRICT OF NEVADA

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***

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TEAM KENNEDY,

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Case No.2:24-CV-1027 JCM (MDC)
Plaintiff(s),
ORDER

v.
FRANCISCO V. AGUILAR,
Defendant(s).

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Presently before the court is Somos PAC’s motion to intervene. (ECF No. 4). No response
has been filed. For the reasons stated below, the court DENIES the motion as moot.

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This case involves Robert F. Kennedy’s political organization, Team Kennedy, and Nevada

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Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar. Team Kennedy filed a complaint in May seeking declaratory

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and injunctive relief to display Kennedy’s name on the 2024 general election ballot. (ECF No. 1).

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Aguilar never answered the complaint. Somos PAC thereafter filed a motion to intervene,

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claiming the case threatened Somos’ interest as a political action committee. (ECF No.4).

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“[T]he doctrine of mootness can be described as ‘the doctrine of standing set in a time

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frame: The requisite personal interest that must exist at the commencement of the litigation

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(standing) must continue throughout its existence (mootness).’” Friends of the Earth, Inc. v.

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Laidlaw Envtl. Servs. (TOC), Inc., 528 U.S. 167, 189 (2000) (quoting Arizonans for Official

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English v. Arizona, 520 U.S. 43, 68 n.22 (1997)). “A case that becomes moot at any point during

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the proceedings is ‘no longer a ‘Case’ or ‘Controversy’ for purposes of Article III,’ and is outside

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the jurisdiction of the federal courts.” United States v. Sanchez-Gomez, 138 S. Ct. 1532, 1537

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(2018) (quoting Already, LLC v. Nike, Inc., 568 U.S. 85, 91 (2013)).

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The court finds that the factual circumstances underlying the proposed intervenor’s motion

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no longer exists. Somos’ alleged interest in the action concerned only the proceedings and

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outcome of the 2024 general election. Because the court cannot ascertain any continued interest

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that would require it to grant the present motion to intervene, the court denies the motion as moot.

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Accordingly,

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IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED that Somos PAC’s motion to

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intervene (ECF No. 4) be, and the same hereby is, DENIED.

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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the plaintiff in this case, Team Kennedy, must file a

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status update with the court within 21 days of this order, informing the court why this case should

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not be dismissed as moot.

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DATED January 27, 2025.
________________________________________
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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