Native Ecosystems Council v. Webber

United States District Court for the District of Montana, Missoula Division · May 21, 2025 · No. 9:25-cv-00025

Summary

This federal district court order grants Sun Mountain Lumber, Inc.'s motion to intervene as of right in an environmental lawsuit brought by conservation groups against federal forestry and wildlife agencies. The court applied the four-factor test under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 24, finding the motion timely and that the intervenor's economic and ecological interests in the Wood Duck Project were not adequately represented by existing parties. The court directed the clerk to amend the case caption and ordered all parties to comply with existing scheduling orders.

Court
United States District Court for the District of Montana, Missoula Division
Writing for the Court
Dana L. Christensen
Jurisdiction
United States District Court for the District of Montana
Decision date
May 21, 2025
Docket number
9:25-cv-00025
Procedural posture
motion to intervene
Precedential value
unpublished
Disposition
other

Topics

civil procedureenvironmental law

Practice areas

civil procedureenvironmental law

Questions Presented

  1. Whether Sun Mountain Lumber satisfies the four statutory criteria for intervention as a matter of right under Fed. R. Civ. P. 24(a).

Holdings

  1. All four criteria for intervention as of right are established; the motion to intervene is granted.

Key quotations

All four criteria for intervention as of right are established in this case. (order)

Factual background

Sun Mountain Lumber seeks to intervene to protect its economic, social, and ecological interests in the Wood Duck Project, asserting that the existing parties cannot adequately represent those interests.

Procedural history

Plaintiffs filed the action on February 18, 2025. Sun Mountain Lumber filed a motion for leave to intervene as a matter of right under Fed. R. Civ. P. 24(a). The court considered the four statutory criteria and granted the motion.

Court Document

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