Vilsack

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 6 NATIONAL FAMILY FARM Case No. 21-cv-05695-JD COALITION, et al., 8 Plaintiffs, ORDER RE MOOTNESS 9 v. 10 TOM VILSACK, et al., 11 Defendants.

12 On December 2, 2024, the Court entered partial summary judgment in favor of plaintiffs on their Plant Protection Act (PPA)-based claims under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), prospectively vacated the challenged rule, and remanded to the agency for further consideration. See generally Dkt. No. 81. The Court directed the parties to confer about plaintiffs’ remaining challenges under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Id. at 26. The conference was unsuccessful in the sense that the parties could not agree whether those claims were ripe for decision or moot. See Dkt. No. 82. APHIS and the trade association defendant-intervenors say that the vacatur of the challenged rule mooted the remaining claims. Id. at 3-5. Plaintiffs disagree. Id. at 5-7. The record demonstrates that…