D.C. Circuit Sides with ZCC Client and Upholds Injunction Protecting Billions in Clean-Energy Funding

Law360 reported that the en banc D.C. Circuit upheld a preliminary injunction preventing the federal government from freezing billions of dollars in clean-energy grants created through the Inflation Reduction Act.  Zimmer, Citron & Clarke represents grant recipient Justice Climate Fund in the litigation.  Attorneys David Zimmer, Eric Citron, and Kathleen Foley worked alongside attorneys from several other national law firms representing grant recipients.

The dispute concerns approximately $20 billion in funding awarded through the Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. Grant recipients challenged the government’s attempt to terminate the awards and prevent Citibank, which held the grant accounts, from disbursing the funds.  After district court Judge Tanya Chutkan issued a preliminary injunction in favor of Justice Climate Fund and other grant recipients, the government appealed.  A divided panel initially vacated the injunction, but the D.C. Circuit reheard the matter en banc and reinstated the district court’s protections.