453 F.Supp.3d 391
D.D.C.2020Background
- Plaintiffs (Dallas Safari Club, Namibian MET, NASCO, and individual sport hunters) seek import permits for sport‑hunted African elephant trophies and challenge the Fish and Wildlife Service’s (Service) failure to process pending permit applications.
- Importation requires ESA "enhancement" findings and, where applicable, CITES non‑detriment findings and import permits; the Branch of Permits makes those findings.
- After the D.C. Circuit held certain countrywide enhancement findings were rules subject to notice‑and‑comment (Safari Club Int’l v. Zinke), the Service withdrew some countrywide findings and moved to case‑by‑case review.
- Plaintiffs allege President Trump’s November 2017 tweets caused the Service to stop processing elephant import permits and that many applications have remained pending.
- Plaintiffs sought a mandatory preliminary injunction ordering the Service to process pending and future elephant import permit applications within 90 days.
- The court denied the motion, holding Plaintiffs failed to demonstrate irreparable harm; it also noted Plaintiffs’ delay in seeking relief and COVID‑19 related operational limits as reasons weighing against injunctive relief.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Plaintiffs are entitled to a mandatory preliminary injunction directing the Service to process permits | Service has refused to process pending permits (caused by presidential tweets and agency inaction); immediate relief needed | The Service is appropriately exercising regulatory discretion and is resource‑constrained; extraordinary mandatory relief is unwarranted | Denied—Plaintiffs failed to show irreparable harm, so injunction not justified |
| Emotional harm to individual hunter plaintiffs | Delay in import processing causes "great anguish" and emotional injury from inability to retrieve trophies | Emotional distress is speculative/boilerplate and not the kind of irreparable injury warranting a mandatory injunction | Not irreparable—emotional harms were conclusory, recreational activity already completed, and can be redressed by a later permit decision |
| Economic harms to hunters (storage costs, theft risk, lost value) | Hunters face ongoing storage fees, risk of theft/diversion to black market, and rising costs abroad | Plaintiffs offer no evidence hunters are incurring new storage fees or losses caused by Service; alleged monetary harms are speculative or pre‑existing costs | Not irreparable—economic allegations are speculative or unrecoverable only in limited circumstances and here do not threaten plaintiffs’ existence |
| Organizational plaintiffs’ derivative harm (funding for conservancies, conservation impact) | Delay reduces hunting demand → reduces conservation funding in range states → irreparable harm to conservation programs and organizations | Plaintiffs offer insufficient proof that permit delay reduced hunting or funding; economic loss alone is generally insufficient for irreparable harm | Not irreparable—no concrete proof linking delay to revenue loss that threatens organizations’ existence; strict standard for irreparable economic harm not met |
Key Cases Cited
- Winter v. Natural Resources Defense Council, 555 U.S. 7 (2008) (establishes preliminary injunction factors and burden)
- Munaf v. Geren, 553 U.S. 674 (2008) (injunction is an extraordinary remedy)
- Davis v. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., 571 F.3d 1288 (D.C. Cir. 2009) (discusses sliding‑scale approach among the four preliminary injunction factors)
- Wisconsin Gas Co. v. FERC, 758 F.2d 669 (D.C. Cir. 1985) (irreparable harm must be certain and great, and movant must substantiate likelihood)
- CityFed Financial Corp. v. Office of Thrift Supervision, 58 F.3d 738 (D.C. Cir. 1995) (if no irreparable harm shown, court need not consider remaining injunction factors)
- Safari Club International v. Zinke, 878 F.3d 316 (D.C. Cir. 2017) (countrywide enhancement findings were rules subject to notice‑and‑comment, remanding to agency)
- League of Women Voters of the U.S. v. Newby, 838 F.3d 1 (D.C. Cir. 2016) (illustrates when delay causes irreparable organizational injury—election deadlines)
- Summers v. Earth Island Institute, 555 U.S. 488 (2009) (standing requires concrete injury for each form of relief sought)