Paul Weiland Comments on Offshore Wind Litigation Outlook

Paul Weiland discussed the impact the Trump administration’s stance on offshore wind could have regarding lawsuits filed against federal wind projects. He offered comment on the topic in the article “Offshore wind foes lose Vineyard battle but start court fight with Iberdrola project” (subscripton required). The article looks at the recent loss—when the Supreme Court declined to hear a petition—for opponents of a Vineyard Wind project currently under construction off coastal Massachusetts. This brought to close a years-long effort to dismiss federal approvals for the project.

The article goes on to discuss how suits filed against federal projects will raise questions under the current administration, as Trump's Department of Justice (DOJ) will be in charge of defending them.

Speaking on this topic, Paul said, “Under a Trump administration, the DOJ could decide not to defend a challenged federal agency authorization or decide to settle with the opposing party in a way that creates problems for the developer.” He added, “If such a resolution seemed to be politically motivated, it could be appealed to a higher court, but any outcome would be highly dependent on the judge or judges to determine if it was unjust.”