Media Advisory: Court Hearing to Determine the Future of Drakes Bay Oyster Company Scheduled for Jan 25

***MEDIA ADVISORY***

 

COURT HEARING TO DETERMINE THE FUTURE OF

DRAKES BAY OYSTER COMPANY

WHAT:  A hearing in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California to determine whether to grant a Preliminary Injunction and allow Drakes Bay Oyster Company to continue operations on their family farm.

After receiving news on November 29, 2012 from Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar that their family-run oyster farm could no longer remain on National Park Service land, the Lunny family enlisted the help of Cause of Action, as well as Stoel Rives, LLP, SSL Law Firm, LLP, and Briscoe Ivester & Bazel, LLP, to help fight for their farm, family, and their community against the government’s abuse of authority.

 

On December 18, Cause of Action filed a Motion for Preliminary Injunction, which if granted, will allow Drakes Bay Oyster Company to remain in business until the merits of the National Park Service and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar decision to shut down the farm have been decided by the Court.

 

 

WHO:   Kevin Lunny, owner, Drakes Bay Oyster Company

Amber Abbasi, Chief Counsel for Regulatory Affairs at Cause of Action

Ryan Waterman, of Counsel at Stoel Rives, LLP
Peter Prows, Partner at Briscoe Ivester & Bazel, LLP

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.

 

 

WHEN: Friday, January 25, 2013 at 2:00pm Pacific Time

 

WHERE: Oakland Courthouse, Courtroom 5 – 2nd Floor

1301 Clay Street, OaklandCA 94612

 

RSVP: This hearing is open to the media and the public. Cameras will not be allowed inside the courtroom.

 

To speak with Kevin Lunny, owner of Drakes Bay Oyster Company or Amber Abbasi, Chief Counsel for Regulatory Affairs at Cause of Action, contact Mary Beth Hutchins,  202-400-2721 or Jamie Morris, jamie.morris@causeofaction.org, at

202-499-4232

 

 

 

Press Release: Cause of Action Sues DOE for Wrongfully Denying Loans to Green Energy Startup Companies

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

JANUARY 10, 2013

 

CAUSE OF ACTION SUES DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY FOR WRONGFULLY DENYING LOANS TO GREEN ENERGY STARTUP COMPANIES AND LEAKING CONFIDENTIAL INTEL TO GM AND FORD 

DOE awarded loans to government cronies over more qualified applicants

WASHINGTON – Cause of Action (CoA), a government accountability organization, filed two lawsuits today, one in the United States Court of Federal Claims against the Department of Energy, and another in the United States District Court  for the District of Columbia against the Department of Energy as well as Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and Director of the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program, Lachlan Seward , for unlawfully denying XP Vehicles, Inc.’s (XP)and Limnia, Inc.’s applications for funds as well as leaking patented intellectual property to government-backed General Motors and Ford.

“XP and Limnia are fighting against the Department of Energy’s lack of fairness in favor of politics as well as its flagrant abuse of taxpayer dollars to harm small business and benefit political cronies,” stated Dan Epstein, executive director of Cause of Action. “XP and Limnia are now turning to the court for the accountability the DOE failed to administer.”

XP and Limnia allege that the Department of Energy granted loans in an arbitrary and capricious manner, inconsistently favoring some, while disadvantaging other applicants. These loan programs were intended to promote U.S. advanced technology companies and to reduce U.S. dependency on foreign oil.

Evidence suggests that XP’s November 10, 2008 Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) loan application was deliberately “set aside,” substantially delayed consideration, and later denied by the DOE in favor of loan applications from politically-connected governmentcronieslike Tesla, Fisker, and GM.

Additionally, the lawsuit identifies the multiple violations of Non-Disclosure Agreements in which Limnia’s confidential intellectual property including patented energy storing systems and pressure membrane technology were disclosed to GM and to Ford, a recipient of the ATVM Loan Program.

XP and Limnia turned to Cause of Action to hold the Department of Energy, its Secretary and its programs administrator accountable for their actions in wrongfully denying loan applications while at the same time engaging in the unauthorized disclosure of confidential intellectual property with government-backed competitors.

The complaints can be found here.

 

To schedule an interview with Cause of Action’s Executive Director Dan Epstein, contact Mary Beth Hutchins,  202-400-2721 or Jamie Morris, jamie.morris@causeofaction.org.

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Drakes Bay Oyster Company Pushes Back, 90 Day Deadline Extended

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                    CONTACT:

DECEMBER 18, 2012                                                   Mary Beth Hutchins or Jamie Morris

202-499-4232

Movement in Drakes Bay Oyster Company’s Push against the Government: 90 Day Deadline Is Extended

SAN FRANCISCO – The first signs of progress have come for Drakes Bay Oyster Company (DBOC) and the Lunny family in their fight against the National Park Service and Department of Interior following Sec. Kenneth Salazar’s November 29 decision that essentially shut down their business.

 

In a stipulation approved by order of the court, the Department of Justice, which is defending the government in Drakes Bay Oyster Company, et al. v. Kenneth L. Salazar, et al., conceded to requests by the DBOC attorneys as follows:

 

  1. DBOC may conduct activities involving planting and growing new oysters in the water at Drakes Estero, and will thereby avoid threatened layoffs of one-third of its employees right before the holidays.
  2. DBOC will no longer be required to remove the mobile residential units located on site and currently inhabited by Drakes Bay Oyster Company employees, thereby providing more time for those employees to look for affordable housing.
  3. DBOC now has until March 15, 2013 to complete the removal of all other personal property within the onshore area, instead of the original February 28, 2013 deadline.
  4. A hearing is set for January 25, 2013 on a request for a preliminary injunction.

 

Under the agreement, DBOC withdraws its request for a temporary restraining order that was submitted to the court last week, and instead will file a Motion for a Preliminary Injunction.

 

“While this decision brings some temporary relief for the Lunnys and their employees, the attorneys representing the best interests of DBOC know that this is only the first step in fighting against the abuse perpetrated by Secretary Salazar – at the expense of a small, family-owned and environmentally sound business,” said Dan Epstein, executive director of Cause of Action.

 

Cause of Action, Stoel Rives, Briscoe Ivester & Bazel, and SSL Law represent Drakes Bay Oyster Company.

 

To schedule an interview with Dan Epstein, Cause of Action’s Executive Director, contact Mary Beth Hutchins,  202-400-2721 or Jamie Morris, jamie.morris@causeofaction.org, at 202-499-4232.

 

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Press Release: Drakes Bay Oyster Company Files Lawsuit Against Government

 

DRAKES BAY OYSTER COMPANY FILES LAWSUIT AGAINST FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FOR ABUSING AUTHORITY, MISREPRESENTING SCIENCE

National Park Service, Interior Department, Secretary Salazar All Named in Lawsuit Over Shut-Down of Bay Area Family Farm

SAN FRANCISCO – Drakes Bay Oyster Company (DBOC) and owner Kevin Lunny filed a lawsuit on Monday, December 3 in response to the decision from Secretary of the Interior Kenneth Salazar to not authorize a special use permit to DBOC on National Park Service (NPS) land that has been home to the Drakes Bay Oyster Company for years.

Cause of Action, a nonprofit government accountability group, along with Stoel Rives, LLP and SSL Law Firm, LLP are representing DBOC in its fight against the decision from Secretary Salazar on several legal claims.

The lawsuit is being filed against:

  • The National Park Service,
  • Secretary of the Interior Kenneth Salazar,
  • The Department of the Interior,
  • NPS Director Jonathan Jarvis,
  • and various NPS employees.

The key components of the lawsuit filed in the Northern District of California’s District Court include the following allegations:

  • Defendants failed to comply with National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).
  • Defendants violated the Data Quality Act and the APA by publishing and using scientifically flawed and false information as part of the decisionmaking process for DBOC’s Special Use Permit (SUP) application.
  • Defendants violated the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
  • Defendants violated the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
  • NPS employees interfered with the agency’s lawfully required procedures by providing misleading and false information to decisionmakers and the public.

Cause of Action’s Executive Director Dan Epstein offered this comment on the lawsuit:

“Cause of Action is committed to ensuring that federal agency decision-making that can affect economic prosperity in the United States is held to the scrutiny of public accountability. This is why we refuse to let the NPS and Secretary Salazar get away with exerting power that destroys a business and a community under the guise of authorized discretion.

A federal agency is not constitutionally empowered to repeatedly use false scientific data, in contradiction of its own policies, to misrepresent the behaviors of a local family business.”

The complaint can be found here.

To schedule an interview with Dan Epstein, Cause of Action’s Executive Director, or Kevin Lunny, owner of Drakes Bay Oyster Company, contact Mary Beth Hutchins,  202-400-2721 or Jamie Morris, jamie.morris@causeofaction.org, at 202-499-4232.

 

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Drakes Bay Oyster Company Promises to Fight National Park Service Decision

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                CONTACT:

DECEMBER 3, 2012                                                                           Mary Beth Hutchins or Briton Bennett

202-499-4232

 

DRAKES BAY OYSTER COMPANY PROMISES TO FIGHT NATIONAL PARK SERVICE DECISION

“We are …fighting…against a federal government that seems to value lies over the truth and special interests over the welfare of a community,” – Kevin Lunny, owner, DBOC

 

MARIN COUNTY, CA – Drakes Bay Oyster Company (DBOC) Owner Kevin Lunny announces today a continued effort to fight for his family’s business that was shut down by the National Park Service on November 30.  Retaining the help of government accountability group Cause of Action as well as Stoel Rives LLP, DBOC released the following statement today from Kevin Lunny:

 “We have been a dedicated small family farm for four generations in the West Marin community and when we purchased Drakes Bay Oyster Company seven years ago, we saw an opportunity to revive a part of our community that would provide local jobs, sustainable products for local businesses, and a positive long-term impact on the Bay itself.

The National Park Service has not just shut down our business, but has misrepresented the law, our contracts with the State of California, and the results of scientific studies.

Our family business is not going to sit back and let the government steam roll our community, which has been incredibly supportive of us. We are exploring possible responses to the National Park Service and will be taking legal action against them soon.  We are not walking away, instead we are fighting for our community, our employees, and our family against a federal government that seems to value lies over the truth and special interests over the welfare of a community.”

Cause of Action’s Executive Director Dan Epstein explained why his organization is dedicated to this fight:

“Cause of Action fights federal agencies every day that are abusing their power, ignoring law and procedure, and wasting taxpayer dollars. We aim to hold the National Park Service accountable for their treatment of the Lunny family and the Drakes Bay Oyster Company as we view their actions as a disregard for law and precedent that demands accountability. We are working with the Lunny family on the best legal strategies moving forward.”

 

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.

 

 

To schedule an interview with Dan Epstein, Cause of Action’s Executive Director, contact Mary Beth Hutchins,  202-400-2721 or Briton Bennett, briton.bennett@causeofaction.org, at 202-499-4232.

 

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Cause of Action Responds to U.S.Government’s Attempt to Dismiss Ralls Corp. v. Obama et al.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                       CONTACT:      

NOVEMBER 28, 2012                                           Mary Beth Hutchins, 615-337-3710

Cause of Action Responds to U.S. Government’s Attempt to Dismiss Ralls Corp. v. Obama, et al.

WASHINGTON – Cause of Action (COA), a government accountability group, responded today to oral arguments in the case Ralls Corp. v Obama, et al challenging a shut-down of a Chinese-owned wind farm project in Oregon.  CoA filed an amicus brief in the case on behalf of the American landowners and the American company Oregon Windfarms whose property and companies were a part of the Ralls Corp. wind farm project that was shut down by the federal government, specifically under the direction of both the President and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).

Amber Abbasi, Cause of Action’s Chief Counsel for Regulatory Affairs, said:

When the federal government ignores the Constitution and the President acts beyond his authority, America’s job creators and therefore the American people are the ones who suffer. This court must therefore hold that Ralls’s claims are properly subject to its review.

Cause of Action filed its amicus brief on November 12, 2012. The brief can be found here.

Cause of Action represents the American-owned green energy company Oregon Windfarms, which originally designed the “Butter Creek Projects”—a group of four wind farms that started development and were sold to Ralls Corporation before the government intruded. CFIUS, an agency created during the Cold War era to review the implications of foreign investments in the United States on our national interest, sought to undo the wind farms’ sale to Ralls and prohibit third parties from purchasing the project companies. Its efforts were followed by a presidential order asserting even broader authority over the sale. The halted deal not only harms Ralls, but it also discourages investment in the United States and threatens the rights of American property and business owners.

Of additional concern to Cause of Action is how the federal government is spending taxpayer dollars through CFIUS. Instead of focusing on credible national security threats, the government has decided to target a company which the FAA and the Navy have already determined does not pose a threat. Add that to the detriment brought to consumers who would have benefitted from a lower cost energy supply from these wind farm projects and it is clear that this is yet another example of federal government power exceeding its proper limitations with damaging effects.

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.

To schedule an interview with Dan Epstein, Cause of Action’s Executive Director, or Amber Abbasi, Cause of Action’s Chief Counsel for Regulatory Affairs, contact Mary Beth Hutchins, mary.beth.hutchins@causeofaction.org or Briton Bennett, briton.bennett@causeofaction.org.

 

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XP Technology Retains Cause of Action in DOE Cronyism Suit

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                CONTACT:

NOVEMBER 23, 2012                                                                        Mary Beth Hutchins or Briton Bennett

202-499-4232

 

XP TECHNOLOGY RETAINS CAUSE OF ACTION TO FIGHT ENERGY DEPARTMENT CRONYISM

 

WASHINGTON – Cause of Action, a government accountability organization, now represents San Francisco-based XP Technology in its November 14, 2012 lawsuit against the federal government concerning the U.S. Department of Energy’s denial of XP Technology’s loan guarantee application under the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (AVTM) loan program.

 

XP Technology’s complaint, filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, alleges that “corruption and negligence” pervaded DOE’s decision to award loan guarantees to Ford, Nissan, Tesla Motors, and Fisker Automotive for the development of electric vehicle technology.
“The Department of Energy has acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner at the expense of American small businesses that have sought to reduce our country’s dependence on foreign oil,” asserted Scott Douglas Redmond, XP’s lead investor.

 

About XP Technology:
In development for nearly a dozen years, with millions of dollars in resources already invested, XP Technology., is on a mission is to develop the safest, most affordable vehicle with the lowest total cost of operation (TCO) and the best power-to-weight ratio powered by alternative energy. The battery pack is capable of dramatically exceeding the range of any shipping electric vehicle with four passengers. However, it could reach 300 miles with the continuous and hot-swappable charge of an optional XP Auxiliary Power Unit.  For more information on XP Vehicles, please visit www.xpvehicles.com.

 

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.

 

All legal inquiries should be directed to Cause of Action’s Executive Director, Dan Epstein, at 202-400-2720. Media inquiries should be brought to the attention of Mary Beth Hutchins, mary.beth.hutchins@causeofaction.org or Briton Bennett, briton.bennett@causeofaction.org.

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