Habitat Education Center v. United States Forest Service

The United States Forest Service (service) (defendant) decided to allow logging in the national forest in Wisconsin and planned to issue a permit to the highest bidder for the logging contract. Habitat Education Center (Habitat) (plaintiff), a nonprofit focused on promoting environmental quality, sued the service, seeking to prevent the logging. The district court issued a preliminary injunction preventing the service from proceeding with its plans while the suit was pending. In keeping with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(c), the judge required Habitat to post a $10,000 injunction bond as security in case Habitat ultimately lost the suit and the service subsequently sought damages for wrongful enjoinment. Habitat asked the judge to reconsider the bond order, arguing that a nonprofit devoted to promoting public good should not be required to post an injunction bond. The judge declined to modify the order, and Habitat posted the bond. In the underlying case, the district court granted the service’s motion for summary judgment and dissolved the preliminary injunction. Habitat appealed. Habitat did not challenge the judgment in the service’s favor. It challenged only the trial court’s order requiring Habitat to post an injunction bond, the funds of which were now at risk if the service decided to seek damages for wrongful enjoinment.