Change Wildlife Habitat Lawsuits?????

[blacktailslayer]

Environmental and Animal Rights groups use the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) to get reimbursed and pay all their legal fees with lawsuit after lawsuit. I believe they can get reimbursed even if they don’t win everything in their lawsuit as stated below:

“To recover under EAJA, a claimant must show that it is a "prevailing party." Parties are considered to be prevailing parties when they have been successful on any significant issue in litigation that achieves some of the benefit the parties sought.”

The reason these groups can do this is from a loophole that allows 501©(3) organizations to recover funds under the EAJA.

Has there been any attempt from hunting organizations or people working with their congress reps to eliminate or change this loophole so environmental and animal rights groups cannot get lawyer and attorney fees paid for? Is this something we should start working on or even possible? Would be extremely positive for hunters, anglers and natural resource managers.

[elkoholic]

I think that those groups get reimbursed even if they manage to get a temporary restraining order that is later overturned in court. The EAJA has been the catalyst for many a lawsuit against the Forest Service, logging companies and mining companies. The costs include taxpayer money that the Forest Service could put to better use than defending frivolous lawsuits, to the loss of good paying jobs. Contacting your senators/representatives about your concerns is a good idea but I can almost guarantee that any change to close the loophole would result in another lawsuit.