DONALD C. WINTER, SECRETARY OF THE NAVY, ET AL., PETITIONERS v. NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL, INC., ET AL., 555 U.S. 7

Summary

Sharing the waters in the Navy's Southern California operating area were at least 37 species of marine mammals, including dolphins, whales, and sea lions. The parties strongly disputed the extent to which the Navy's training activities, specifically its use of active sonar, would harm those animals or disrupt their behavioral patterns. The Court agreed with the Navy that the Ninth Circuit's "possibility" of irreparable injury standard for preliminary relief was too lenient. The frequently reiterated standard required parties seeking preliminary relief to demonstrate that irreparable injury was "likely" in the absence of an injunction. The district court did not reconsider the likelihood of irreparable harm in light of four restrictions not challenged by the Navy (the Navy was only challenging two out of six restrictions in the injunction). Even if plaintiffs had shown irreparable injury from the Navy's training exercises, any such injury was outweighed by the public interest and the ...