On October 29, 2012, the U.S. Justice Department filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed by Ralls Corp (“Ralls”), an affiliate of Chinese-owned Sany Group, challenging President Obama’s September 28, 2012 order that blocked four planned Oregon wind projects on national security grounds. See our previous posts for more background on the Ralls Corp. v. Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. case.
In its filing, the Justice Department argued the Defense Production Act prohibited judicial review of presidential orders that suspend or prohibit the acquisition of a U.S. business by a foreign person. “Neither the president’s findings nor his actions in the presidential order fall outside his extremely broad discretion, and Rall[s]’s constitutional claims are nothing more than disguised challenges to his exercise of that discretion,” wrote U.S. Attorney Joel McElvain in the filing.
Ralls has argued the Presidential Order could cost the company $20 million in lost design and construction costs. Ralls also argues it will also lose $25 million in federal tax incentives if the wind projects are not placed in service by December 31, 2012.
Stay tuned to Renewable + Law blog for more developments in this case.