Opinion ID: 183689
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Availability of Further Relief

Text: There is no question that an action becomes moot when the court cannot grant `any effectual relief whatever' in favor of the plaintiff. Calderon v. Moore, 518 U.S. 149, 150, 116 S.Ct. 2066, 135 L.Ed.2d 453 (1996) (quoting Mills v. Green, 159 U.S. 651, 653, 16 S.Ct. 132, 40 L.Ed. 293 (1895)). To avoid mootness, though, the plaintiff need not establish that the full relief sought is available; even the availability of a `partial remedy' is `sufficient to prevent [a] case from being moot.' Id. (quoting Church of Scientology of Cal. v. United States, 506 U.S. 9, 13, 113 S.Ct. 447, 121 L.Ed.2d 313 (1992)) (alteration in original); see also Weaver's Cove Energy, LLC v. R.I. Coastal Res. Mgmt. Council, 589 F.3d 458, 468 (1st Cir.2009) (We will only find a case moot if an intervening event `makes it impossible for the court to grant any effectual relief.' (quoting Gulf of Me. Fisherman's Alliance v. Daley, 292 F.3d 84, 88 (1st Cir.2002))). It is undisputed that someor allof the relief requested by Chico remains outstanding and could be granted by a federal court. Most significantly, no order requiring remediation of the filling station site has been issued by any commonwealth or federal tribunal. Nonetheless, Sol argues that, because the EQB has a proposed remediation plan before it as well as the power to grant the civil penalties Chico has requested, any relief the district court could order would be duplicative and unnecessary. This is nothing more than a repackaged version of the meritless abstention argument. The fact that the EQB proceeding might eventually yield an order providing the same relief sought in the district court action in no way renders the plaintiffs' suit moot. See ConnectU LLC v. Zuckerberg, 522 F.3d 82, 89 (1st Cir.2008) (holding that the pendency of parallel actions seeking same relief does not render either action moot).