United States v. Buckingham Coal Company, 2:11-cv-00383

United States seeks Rule 65(b) temporary restraining order to prevent Buckingham from mining under Burr Oak State Park.
Tom Jenkins Dam and Burr Oak Reservoir are operated by the Army Corps with a flowage easement impacting land beneath Buckingham’s mining plan.
1948 Agreement requires Ohio to acquire lands and convey a perpetual flowage easement to the United States; it contains no express mining prohibition.
1962 deed and 1963 deed convey coal interests and a flowage easement to the United States, with no explicit mining restrictions.
Ohio enacted a 2009 statute authorizing underground coal extraction under Burr Oak State Park via lease agreements; Buckingham entered into an Exchange Agreement and lease in 2010; Buckingham began Corridor construction and mining activities.
Court held a May 10–11, 2011 hearing and denied the United States’ TRO request.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Likelihood of success on merits	United States argues documents prohibit mining	Buckingham contends no express prohibition	No strong likelihood; denied
Irreparable injury	Subsidence and loss of flood control	No material irreparable risk established	No irreparable injury shown
Harm to others/public interest	Granting TRO serves public flood-control interests	Harm to Buckingham and public obligations favor state lease	Public interest and harms favor defendants; TRO denied

United States v. Hughes, 408 F.2d 619 (6th Cir. 1969) (flowage easement purposes; encroachments incompatible with easement)
Winter v. NRDC, 555 U.S. 7 (Supreme Court 2008) (four-factor preliminary injunction standard; irreparable injury required)
Ohio Republican Party v. Brunner, 543 F.3d 357 (6th Cir. 2008) (four-factor TRO standard; strong likelihood of success not required to grant TRO)
Crane Hollow, Inc. v. Marathon Ashland Pipe Line, LLC, 138 Ohio App.3d 57 (Ohio Ct. App. 2000) (flowage/easement considerations; interference with easement)