Opinion
1:18-cv-00331-LJO-MJS
07-16-2018
SEQUOIA FORESTKEEPER and EARTH ISLAND INSTITUTE, Plaintiffs, v. ANN CARLSON, in her official capacity as the acting Forest Supervisor of the Sequoia National Forest; and the UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE, Defendants.
MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO INTERVENE (ECF No. 20)
The Court has received and reviewed the motion to intervene filed by Sierra Forest Products ("SFP"). ECF No. 20. Plaintiffs and Federal Defendants take no position on the motion. Accordingly, the Court concludes the matter is suitable for decision on the papers pursuant to Local Rule 230(g).
For good cause shown, SFP's motion to intervene as of right as a defendant in this action under Fed. R. Civ. P. 24(a) is GRANTED. SFP's motion is timely; among other things, the fact that SFP holds the contract to implement the Spear Creek Roadside Hazard Tree Mitigation Project represents a significant protectable interest in the subject matter of the litigation; disposition of the case would impact SFP's protectable interests; and, while the interests of SFP and Federal Defendants overlap, they are not identical, as Federal Defendants must represent broad public interests beyond the predominantly economic interests of SFP. SFP's participation in the case is conditioned on its making every effort to avoid duplicative briefing. Duplicative briefing will be disregarded and/or stricken. IT IS SO ORDERED.
The Court made the same finding in Earth Island Institute v. Elliott, Case No. 1:17-cv-01320-LJO-SAB, a challenge to the Bull Run Roadside Hazard Tree Mitigation Project, and granted SFP's motion to intervene in that case as well. --------
Dated: July 16 , 2018
/s/ Lawrence J. O'Neill
UNITED STATES CHIEF DISTRICT JUDGE