As discussed in these PubCo posts from Monday, Saturday, Tuesday and Thursday, on March 15, in a one-sentence order, the Fifth Circuit granted a motion by Liberty Energy Inc. and Nomad Proppant Services LLC for an administrative stay of the SEC final climate disclosure rules. That case was just one of nine challenging the SEC’s rules in six different circuits. As previously reported, upon request of the SEC, on March 21, 2024, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation issued a consolidation order in these cases, randomly selecting the Eighth Circuit as the court in which to consolidate these petitions. Bloomberg has reported that, of 17 appellate judges in the Eighth Circuit, only one was appointed by a Democrat. Not that the politics should matter, of course.
Today, the Fifth Circuit ordered the transfer of the petition to the Eighth Circuit and the dissolution of the administrative stay. It’s worth noting that one of the three judges, Judge Jones, indicated her belief that the docket should stay as is pending transfer. Whether the stay will be reinstituted by the Eighth Circuit remains to be seen.
