5th Cir. Declines to Rule Immediately on Government's 1st Drilling Ban

NEW ORLEANS - The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals cited an inadequate record in declining to overturn, on mootness grounds, an injunction against the federal government's first attempt to halt drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Hornbeck Offshore Services LLC, et al. v. Salazar, et al., No. 10-30585 (5th Cir.).

The court said in a per curiam opinion in Aug. 16 that given the lack of factual record, the court cannot grant the motion by Interior Secretary Kenneth L. Salazar to vacate the injunction granted by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana on June 25.