Lakewood, Colo. (June 20, 2025)–Mountain States Legal Foundation welcomes today’s decisive 7–2 ruling by the United States Supreme Court in Diamond Alternative Energy, LLC v. EPA, which confirms that American businesses and property owners who are harmed by unlawful regulations have the right to challenge those government actions in court.
Narrowly at issue was whether industries affected by California’s aggressive “electric vehicle mandate”—granted by EPA waiver—could seek judicial review. And in the bigger picture, this was a case about whether the federal courts must let you challenge federal regulators when they take actions that harm you, even if the regulations do not name you specifically.
The Court ruled that businesses and others who suffer real, traceable harm from a regulatory decision have standing to sue, so long as a court could redress their injuries. There are no magic words or special pieces of evidence that you need to bring to the courthouse steps, just so that you can walk into the courthouse doors. The courts must be open to these challenges.
Writing for the majority, Justice Brett Kavanaugh stated: “The government generally may not target a business or industry through stringent and allegedly unlawful regulation, and then evade the resulting lawsuits by claiming that the targets of its regulation should be locked out of court as unaffected bystanders.”
Mountain States Legal Foundation filed friend-of-the-court briefs in support of the challengers, on behalf of the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, the Texas Royalty Council, and the American Royalty Council—groups representing industries, businesses, and property owners deeply affected by California’s “electric vehicle mandate” and California’s attempts to impose that mandate on the rest of the Nation.
“This ruling is a win for common sense and the Constitution,” said Ivan London, Senior Attorney at Mountain States Legal Foundation. “Businesses and property owners shouldn’t have to sit on the sidelines while unelected regulators steamroll entire industries. Today, the Court reaffirmed that if government rules harm you, then you have a right to challenge the government and its rules in court. That principle is foundational—and it’s worth fighting for.”
The decision ensures that courts stay open to those harmed by expansive regulatory actions and reaffirms the judiciary’s crucial role in safeguarding constitutional boundaries.
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Mountain States Legal Foundation is a nonprofit, public-interest legal firm established in 1977. MSLF is dedicated to individual liberty, limited and ethical government, and the benefits of the free enterprise system. MSLF defends its clients through pro bono litigation and seeks victory for its clients at the highest level possible to establish binding legal precedents to benefit millions of Americans. Through its litigation and public discourse, MSLF educates the American public on the threat unrestrained government presents to our liberties. Learn more at mslegal.org
MEDIA CONTACT: Please direct questions to MacKenzie Guy at communications@mslegal.org, or call 303-292-2021.