Florida Marine Contractors v. Williams

378 F. Supp. 2d 1353 (2005)

From our private database of 46,200+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Florida Marine Contractors v. Williams

United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida
378 F. Supp. 2d 1353 (2005)

DC

Facts

To protect marine mammals from manmade threats, including protecting manatees that had been run down by motorboats in unregulated waters, Congress passed the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) in 1972. A group of landowners, marine contractors, and an industry association for marine contractors (the boating groups) (plaintiffs) sought state permits to construct docks on Florida’s inland waterways. State authorities forwarded the applications to the Army Corps of Engineers (the corps), which determined that the permits posed a threat to Florida manatees, a protected species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and consulted with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (the service). The service determined that the permits were prohibited by the MMPA because recreational motorboats using the docks would cause incidental takings of Florida manatees and have a more-than-negligible impact on the manatees. The service determined that the permits therefore did not fall within an exception to the MMPA’s moratorium on incidental-taking permits. The boating groups challenged the service’s determination, arguing that the service lacked the authority to deny the dock permits because the MMPA did not apply to takings caused by recreational activities on inland state waters.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Moody, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 796,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials
  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 796,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,200 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 796,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,200 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership