CleanAirNow v. DeJoy

Background

This order concerns two related cases: CleanAirNow v. DeJoy and a case brought by the State of California against the United States Postal Service and others. Oshkosh Defense, LLC asked to intervene under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 24.

Rulings on Intervention

The court denied intervention as of right in both cases. The court assumed that Oshkosh had satisfied the first three parts of the applicable four-part test. On the fourth part—whether existing parties would adequately represent Oshkosh’s interests—the court found that Oshkosh had not made the required showing.

The court explained that Oshkosh and the government shared the same ultimate objective: upholding the challenged vehicle acquisition program. Because the government was already litigating on behalf of that common interest, Oshkosh needed to make a very compelling showing that the government’s representation was inadequate. The court found that Oshkosh had not presented convincing facts showing that the government might be unwilling or reluctant to defend the challenged decision.

The court granted Oshkosh permissive intervention in both cases. Permissive intervention allows a person or entity to join a case when the court determines that the applicable requirements are satisfied. The plaintiffs and the government did not object to Oshkosh’s participation.

Other Directions and Disposition

While the litigation remains stayed, the parties and Oshkosh must submit single, joint status reports. The court will consider after the stays are lifted whether to impose conditions on Oshkosh’s participation to prevent undue delay or unfair prejudice to the original parties.

The order therefore denied intervention as of right and granted permissive intervention in both related cases. The opinion’s signature appears to contain an incomplete or unclear judge’s name, so this summary identifies the judge as the court.