Rancho Viejo, LLC v. Norton
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
323 F.3d 1062 (2003)
- Written by Robert Cane, JD
Facts
The secretary of the United States Department of the Interior, Gale Norton (defendant) listed the arroyo southwestern toad as an endangered species in 1994. In 1999, Rancho Viejo, LLC (plaintiff), a real estate developer, sought regulatory approvals for a 202-acre housing development next to an interstate highway. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (the service) (defendant) determined that Rancho Viejo’s construction plan would jeopardize the existence of the arroyo toad in violation of the Endangered Species Act (the act). The service proposed an alternative construction plan that would have allowed Rancho Viejo to construct its housing development. Rancho Viejo refused to accept the alternative plan and filed suit. Rancho Viejo argued that the application of the Endangered Species Act was an unconstitutional exercise of the federal government’s authority under the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution. Both Rancho Viejo and the government filed cross-motions for summary judgment. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the government. Rancho Viejo appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Garland, J.)
Concurrence (Ginsburg, C.J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 806,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 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.
