FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FEBRUARY 25, 2013
DRAKES BAY OYSTER COMPANY AND LEGAL TEAM RESPOND TO NINTH CIRCUIT DECISION TO GRANT EMERGENCY INJUNCTION PENDING APPEAL
WASHINGTON – Cause of Action (COA), a government accountability group working on behalf of Drakes Bay Oyster Company (DBOC) and owner Kevin Lunny, responded to the Ninth Circuit’s decision to grant the motion for emergency injunction pending appeal for Drakes Bay Oyster Company, which allows the company to remain open while the Ninth Circuit considers the appeal in Drakes Bay Oyster Company v. Salazar, et al. Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers denied an injunction, but DBOC appealed her decision, requesting injunctive relief to avoid the shutdown of the oyster farm on February 28.
“We are grateful that the Ninth Circuit has chosen to allow Drakes Bay Oyster Company to continue operating and recognized the hardships that would have resulted from shutting down the farm before its case could be heard,” said Amber Abbasi, chief counsel for regulatory affairs at Cause of Action. “We will continue to move forward with the lawsuit and fight the blatant overreach and abuse of power inflicted upon the Lunnys and taxpayers by Secretary Salazar’s decision.”
Kevin Lunny, owner of Drakes Bay Oyster Company offered this statement on behalf of the farm:
“We are beyond thrilled that our business will now remain open while we continue to fight the decisions from the court and Secretary Salazar that have put our business at risk. We are so grateful for the support we continue to receive from the community and our legal team and we now will press on in our fight as the lawsuit proceeds. Our fight has always been about more than just our business. Our fight is, and will continue to be, about the great service Drakes Bay Oyster Farm provides to the community as an innovative sustainable farm, an educational resource, and part of the economic fiber of Marin County.”
Cause of Action and Briscoe Ivester & Bazel LLP, Stoel Rives LLP, and SSL Law represent Drakes Bay Oyster Company.
The court’s decision can be found here.
About Cause of Action:
Cause of Action is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that uses investigative, legal, and communications tools to educate the public on how government accountability and transparency protects taxpayer interests and economic opportunity. For more information, visit www.causeofaction.org.
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