Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/22pdf/22-506_nmip.pdf
Page Number: 12

Cite as:  600 U. S. ____ (2023) 

7 

Opinion of the Court 

B 
Six States moved for a preliminary injunction, claiming 
that the plan exceeded the Secretary’s statutory authority.
The District Court held that none of the States had stand-
ing  to  challenge  the  plan  and  dismissed  the  suit.    ___ 
F. Supp. 3d ___ (ED Mo. 2022).  The States appealed, and
the Eighth Circuit issued a nationwide preliminary injunc-
tion pending resolution of the appeal.  The court concluded 
that  Missouri  likely  had  standing  through  the  Missouri 
Higher Education Loan Authority (MOHELA or Authority), 
a public corporation that holds and services student loans. 
52 F. 4th 1044 (2022).  It further concluded that the State’s 
challenge raised “substantial” questions on the merits and
that the equities favored maintaining the status quo pend-
ing further review.  Id., at 1048 (internal quotation marks
omitted).

With the plan on pause, the Secretary asked this Court
to vacate the injunction or to grant certiorari before judg-
ment, “to avoid prolonging this uncertainty for the millions 
of affected borrowers.”  Application 4.  We granted the peti-
tion and set the case for expedited argument.  598 U. S. ___ 
(2022). 

II 
Before addressing the legality of the Secretary’s program,
we must first ensure that the States have standing to chal-
lenge it.  Under Article III of the Constitution, a plaintiff 
needs a “personal stake” in the case.  TransUnion LLC v. 
Ramirez, 594 U. S. ___, ___ (2021) (slip op., at 7).  That is, 
the  plaintiff  must  have  suffered  an  injury  in  fact—a  con-
crete  and  imminent  harm  to  a  legally  protected  interest,
like property or money—that is fairly traceable to the chal-
lenged  conduct  and  likely  to  be  redressed  by  the  lawsuit. 
Lujan  v.  Defenders  of  Wildlife,  504  U. S.  555,  560–561 
(1992).  If at least one plaintiff has standing, the suit may 
proceed.  Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic and Institutional