Fund for Animals v. Norton, No. CIV. 04-1913(EGS).
| Court | United States District Courts. United States District Court (Columbia) |
| Writing for the Court | Sullivan |
| Citation | 352 F.Supp.2d 1 |
| Parties | THE FUND FOR ANIMALS, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Gale NORTON, et al., Defendants. |
| Docket Number | No. CIV. 04-1913(EGS). |
| Decision Date | 05 January 2005 |
Page 1
v.
Gale NORTON, et al., Defendants.
Eric Robert Glitzenstein, Howard M. Crystal, Meyer & Glitzenstein, Washington, DC, for Plaintiff.
Andrew C. Emrich, United States Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for Defendant.
SULLIVAN, District Judge.
I. BACKGROUND
Pending before the Court is the government's Motion to Transfer, Consolidate, and Stay Proceedings filed on November 23, 2004. Federal defendants seek to consolidate parallel challenges pending in this Court and in the District of Wyoming relating to the National Park Service's management of winter use in Yellowstone National Park. See Wyoming Lodging and Rest. Ass'n v. U.S. Dep't of Interior, Civ. No. 03-215B (D.Wyo.).
Upon careful consideration of defendants' motion, the responses and replies thereto, and the relevant statutory and case law, the Court concludes that the Motion to Transfer should be DENIED. The Court will not establish a scheduling order until January 19, 2005, in order to afford the District Court of Wyoming an opportunity to resolve defendants' substantially identical motion filed in that court.
II. DISCUSSION
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a), district courts in their discretion may transfer a case to any other district where it might have been brought "[f]or the convenience of the parties and witnesses, in the interest of justice." 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a). Under this statute, the moving party "bears the burden" of establishing that transfer is appropriate. Flynn v. Veazey Constr. Corp., 310 F.Supp.2d 186, 193 (D.D.C.2004). See Securities and Exchange
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Comm. v. Savoy Ind., Inc., 587 F.2d 1149, 1154 (D.C.Cir.1978) (district court's ruling denying motion to transfer "was effectively a ruling that [appellant] had failed to shoulder his burden").
Defendants have failed to persuade the Court that the interests of justice weigh in favor of the transfer. First, and most importantly, this Court has a long history with the facts and law surrounding this case and the prior litigation involving winter use at Yellowstone National Park. Plaintiffs' most recent complaint calls for the interpretation and application of a series of extensive opinions and orders stretching back to this Court's approval of a Settlement Agreement in 1997. See, e.g., The Fund for Animals v. Norton, 294 F.Supp.2d 92 (D.D.C.2003)...
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Wyoming Lodging v. U.S. Dept. of Interior, No. 04-CV-315-B.
...five cases, two separate courts in two different circuits, and over twenty-five parties.2 See, e.g., Fund For Animals v. Norton, 352 F.Supp.2d 1 (D.D.C.2005); Int'l Snowmobile Manufacturers Ass'n v. Norton, 340 F.Supp.2d 1249 (D.Wyo.2004); Fund for Animals v. Norton, 323 F.Supp.2d 7 (D.D.C.......
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Nat'L. Assoc. of Home Builders v. Us. Envl. Prot. Agency, Civil Action No. 09-0548 (RMU).
...this factor was outweighed by the other public- and private-interest factors. 502 F.Supp.2d at 68; see also Fund for Animals v. Norton, 352 F.Supp.2d 1, 2 (D.D.C.2005) (identifying a strong local interest in the dispute, but holding that this factor was not Likewise, in the instant case, th......
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McLaughlin v. Holder, Civil Action No. 11–1868 (RWR).
...VII claims alleging instances of discrimination similar to those alleged here. 2. McLaughlin's reliance on Fund for Animals v. Norton, 352 F.Supp.2d 1 (D.D.C.2005), in support of her argument that the presence of a related case militates in favor of venue, is misplaced. There was no dispute......
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McLaughlin v. Holder, Civil Action No. 11-1868 (RWR)
...VII claims alleging instances of discrimination similar to those alleged here. 2. McLaughlin's reliance on Fund for Animals v. Norton, 352 F. Supp. 2d 1 (D.D.C. 2005), in support of her argument that the presence of a related case militates in favor of venue, is misplaced. There was no disp......
-
Wyoming Lodging v. U.S. Dept. of Interior, No. 04-CV-315-B.
...five cases, two separate courts in two different circuits, and over twenty-five parties.2 See, e.g., Fund For Animals v. Norton, 352 F.Supp.2d 1 (D.D.C.2005); Int'l Snowmobile Manufacturers Ass'n v. Norton, 340 F.Supp.2d 1249 (D.Wyo.2004); Fund for Animals v. Norton, 323 F.Supp.2d 7 (D.D.C.......
-
Nat'L. Assoc. of Home Builders v. Us. Envl. Prot. Agency, Civil Action No. 09-0548 (RMU).
...this factor was outweighed by the other public- and private-interest factors. 502 F.Supp.2d at 68; see also Fund for Animals v. Norton, 352 F.Supp.2d 1, 2 (D.D.C.2005) (identifying a strong local interest in the dispute, but holding that this factor was not Likewise, in the instant case, th......
-
McLaughlin v. Holder, Civil Action No. 11–1868 (RWR).
...VII claims alleging instances of discrimination similar to those alleged here. 2. McLaughlin's reliance on Fund for Animals v. Norton, 352 F.Supp.2d 1 (D.D.C.2005), in support of her argument that the presence of a related case militates in favor of venue, is misplaced. There was no dispute......
-
McLaughlin v. Holder, Civil Action No. 11-1868 (RWR)
...VII claims alleging instances of discrimination similar to those alleged here. 2. McLaughlin's reliance on Fund for Animals v. Norton, 352 F. Supp. 2d 1 (D.D.C. 2005), in support of her argument that the presence of a related case militates in favor of venue, is misplaced. There was no disp......