Description: Challenge to the Washington State Building Code Council’s amendments of the State Energy Code to ban or restrict the use of natural gas appliances in commercial and residential buildings.
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Rivera v. Washington State Building Code Council
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 08/03/2023 Notice of Voluntary Dismissal Download Plaintiffs filed notice of voluntary dismissal without prejudice. Plaintiffs Voluntarily Dismissed Challenge to Washington Energy Code Restrictions on Natural Gas Appliances. On August 3, 2023, a coalition of plaintiffs that included homeowners, builders, suppliers, and utilities voluntarily dismissed their lawsuit challenging amendments to the Washington State Energy Code that banned or restricted the use of natural gas appliances in commercial and residential buildings. The plaintiffs said they were dismissing the case without prejudice in light of the defendants’ delay of the restrictions and initiation of a process to consider amendments in light of the Ninth Circuit’s decision in California Restaurant Association v. City of Berkeley that held that the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act expressly preempted Berkeley’s ban on the installation of natural gas piping in newly constructed buildings. (Berkeley has filed a petition for rehearing en banc in that case.) 07/19/2023 Order Download Preliminary injunction denied and motion to strike granted. The court denied the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction. Earthjustice, which represents climate and public health groups that intervened to defend the code amendments, said the judge had stated that “Washington is committed to addressing climate change and the court will stay out of its way” and had found that the plaintiffs’ alleged harms were “purely speculative.” 07/17/2023 Motion Download Motion filed to strike state defendants' earlier-filed motion to dismiss. 07/17/2023 Motion to Dismiss Download Motion to dismiss filed by defendants. 07/05/2023 Complaint Download First amended complaint filed. 06/22/2023 Motion to Dismiss Download Motion to dismiss filed by defendant. 06/22/2023 Opposition Download Opposition filed by defendant-intervenors to plaintiffs' motion for preliminary injunction. 06/22/2023 Opposition Download Opposition filed by defendants to plaintiffs' motion for preliminary injunction. 06/12/2023 Order Download Motion to intervene granted. 06/06/2023 Motion to Intervene Download Motion to intervene filed by Climate Solutions et al. 06/01/2023 Motion Download Motion for preliminary injunction filed. 05/22/2023 Complaint Download Complaint filed. Lawsuit in Federal Court Challenged Washington’s Restrictions on Natural Gas Appliances. On May 22, 2023, a coalition of plaintiffs that included homeowners, builders, suppliers, and utilities filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Washington challenging the Washington State Building Code Council’s amendments of the State Energy Code to ban or restrict the use of natural gas appliances in commercial and residential buildings. The plaintiffs contended that the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act preempted the restrictions.