Opinion ID: 770390
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Purposes for Which Appellants Sought Intervention.

Text: 58 Appellants identify three purposes behind their motion to intervene: (1) to ensure that their arguments, which they characterize as different from those of the Federal Defendants, are before the court; (2) to ensure that their different concerns are protected in the event of settlement out of court; and (3) to enable them to fully participate in the litigation, by filing motions and appeals. 59 The appellants' first purpose, however, has clearly been met already - the district court did consider all of the arguments and evidence that appellants believed was critical, by virtue of appellants' having received the district court's permission to submit a brief as amici curiae. Even if the appellants' concerns in this case were different from those of the Federal Defendants - a point we address below - the appellants have had a full opportunity to present those concerns to the district court. We have held, in other cases, that the concerns of an entity seeking intervention can be presented with complete sufficiency through such participation. Brewer v. Republic Steel Corp., 513 F.2d 1222, 1225 (6th Cir. 1975) (affirming the district court's denial of a motion by the Ohio Civil Rights Commission for permissive intervention, noting that if the Commission accepts the District Court's invitation to participate in the litigation as an amicus curiae, it would afford the Commissionample opportunity to give the court the benefit of its expertise, and noting also that the District Court apparently will receive and consider any admissible evidence that the Commission chooses to offer); Thornton v. East Texas Motor Freight, Inc., 454 F.2d 197, 198 (6th Cir. 1972) (affirming the district court's denial of the EEOC's motion to intervene permissively or as of right, but allowing the EEOC to participate as amicus curiae). 9 Appellants have not suggested that the district court in any way minimized or ignored their expressed concerns. Further, there is every likelihood that the appellants will be permitted to continue their participation as amici curiae during the related appeal of Stupak-Thrall III, just as they have been allowed to do in Stupak-Thrall II. 60 The appellants' second stated purpose is at once confusing and unrealistic. It is confusing because, although appellants argue they have different concerns than do the Federal Defendants, appellants do not explain how this can be so in the context of this particular case. This case is significantly different from Stupak-Thrall II, where the fundamental question was whether the Forest Service had exceeded the authority the parties all assumed it had. See Stupak-Thrall II, 988 F. Supp. at 1064 (holding that [t]o the extent that Amendment No. 5 limits Plaintiffs' valid existing right to use gas powered motor boats on the surface of Crooked Lake, it exceeds the Forest Service's authority and is not in accordance with law) (emphasis added). Given that the question posed in Stupak-Thrall II was one of degree, one can see how the Federal Defendants and the appellants might have different stakes in that case 10 . In this action, however, the critical question is whether the Federal Defendants have any authority to regulate Crooked Lake at all 11 . With this action, the plaintiffs pray for a permanent injunction prohibiting the Forest Service from including any portion of Crooked Lake within the boundaries of the Sylvania Wilderness Area, J.A. at 38 (amended complaint at 25), which would have the effect of completely eliminating the jurisdiction of the Forest Service over Crooked Lake. The views of the proposed intervenors and the Federal Defendants are in complete accord on this question - they flatly oppose any such ruling. The appellants' assertion that they must intervene to protect their different concerns is unsupported. When the district court granted summary judgment to the defendants, the appellants' concerns were met perfectly - no more and no less. 12 61 The appellants' second stated purpose is unrealistic because the likelihood that theparties will settle is exceedingly small. As demonstrated amply by the litigation history recited above, the plaintiffs are sparing no resources to challenge federal regulation of Crooked Lake, 13 and the Federal Defendants have refused to negotiate. The parties, moreover, have held steadfast with their positions in cases where the central question was merely one of degree; there appears no potential for the parties to settle their differences in this case, where the central question - the Federal Defendants' authority to regulate Crooked Lake vel non - is of an all or nothing nature. Thus, appellants' stated purpose of protecting their concerns in case of settlement out of court is premised on a fear of a highly unlikely, hypothetical occurrence. 62 Finally, regarding the appellants' third stated purpose, the strength of the appellants' need to participate as parties in this litigation (instead of only as amici curiae) is necessarily commensurate with their first two stated purposes. Appellants want to be parties so that they can file motions and appeals, rather than merely amicus briefs - that is, appellants want some say in deciding litigation tactics. Appellants assert that, without these procedural protections, they can neither assure that the litigation will be pursued by the Federal Defendants nor that their positions will be made known to the concerned judicial tribunals. As noted, however, the circumstances of this case are such that the proposed intervenors cannot meaningfully differentiate their concerns from those of the Federal Defendants and, given the fundamental nature of the attack on the authority of the Forest Service, cannot legitimately believe the Federal Defendants might abandon the litigation. In such circumstances, the right to participate as amici curiae is both meaningful and adequate. In sum, the purposes for which appellants seek intervention provide, at most, only lukewarm support for their motion. 63