Calif., 10 Other States Sue Feds Over Delayed Obama-Era Energy Rules
Attorney General Xavier Becerra sued the U.S. Department of Energy on Tuesday for allegedly delaying efficiency standards for five consumer products, adding to the string of legal actions his office has taken against the Trump administration.
June 13, 2017 at 05:04 PM
3 minute read
Attorney General Xavier Becerra sued the U.S. Department of Energy on Tuesday for allegedly delaying efficiency standards for five consumer products, adding to the string of legal actions his office has taken against the Trump administration.
Becerra filed the suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California with 10 other state attorneys general, New York City and two environmental groups.
The plaintiffs allege the Energy Department failed to take the final administrative steps to activate new energy-saving rules—developed in the Obama administration—for portable air conditioners, uninterruptible power supplies, air compressors, walk-in coolers and freezers and commercial packaged boilers.
Energy Department officials approved the standards in December. But regulators have yet to publish them in the Federal Register, an action necessary to make the rules enforceable under law.
“The Department of Energy is blocking commonsense energy efficiency standards,” Becerra said in a prepared statement. “This is absurd. The Trump administration should stop stalling and start following the law.”
A message seeking comment from the Energy Department was not immediately returned.
The efficiency standards lawsuit is the latest filed by Becerra and other Democratic attorneys general over Trump administration attempts to delay or derail environmental ruling. In April, a coalition of state prosecutors sued the federal government over stalled ceiling fan efficiency standards. The Energy Department in May reversed course and announced the fan rules would go into effect in September.
Becerra has vowed to serve as a check against the Trump administration. This month he threatened to take legal action if President Donald Trump attempts to repeal the designations of six national monuments in California. Last month, he sued to block the federal government from restarting a federal coal leasing program on public lands. And in March, Becerra moved to intervene in a federal lawsuit in an attempt to block Trump from rolling back vehicle pollution standards.
Among Becerra's recent executive hires was David Zonana, a 14-year veteran of the state Department of Justice who was named special assistant attorney general for environmental law.
Becerra's office has also filed numerous amicus briefs challenging Trump's travel ban and policies against sanctuary cities, backing civil rights litigation brought by transgender students and supporting abortion rights. Gov. Jerry Brown's May spending plan included 31 new positions for the state Department of Justice, including 19 attorneys Becerra sought to continue his work against Trump policies.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Stoel Rives Adds 7-Lawyer Group to Environmental Practice in Northern California
Trending Stories
- 1'Not the President's Personal Lawyer': Lawyers Share Concerns Over How AG Pick Bondi’s Loyalism to Trump May Impact DOJ
- 2US Judge OKs Partial Release of Ex-Special Counsel's Final Report in Election Case
- 3The Demise of Truth and Transparency in Federal Sentencing
- 4Former Phila. Solicitor Sozi Tulante Rejoins Dechert
- 5'I've Seen Terrible Things': Lawyer Predicts Spike in Hazing Suits
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
