Friends of the Earth, Inc., et al. v. Laidlaw Environmental Services (TOC), Inc.

Defendant-respondent Laidlaw Environmental Services (TOC), Inc., bought a wastewater treatment plant in South Carolina. Laidlaw began to discharge various pollutants into the waterway. These discharges, particularly of mercury, repeatedly exceeded the limits set by a discharge permit Laidlaw had obtained. Plaintiff-petitioners Friends of the Earth filed this citizen suit against Laidlaw, alleging noncompliance with the permit and seeking declaratory and injunctive relief and an award of civil penalties. Laidlaw contended that the Plaintiff-petitioners lacked standing to bring the lawsuit. Laidlaw also argued that the case was moot because it had ceased polluting, and had closed the factory responsible for the pollution complained of. The Supreme Court held that the plaintiff-petitioners had reasonable concerns about the effects of those discharges, directly affecting their recreational, aesthetic, and economic interests. This was enough to adequately document an injury in fact. Therefore the plaintiff-petitioners had standing to bring the suit. Besides that, a citizen suitor’s claim for civil penalties could not be dismissed as moot when the defendant, after commencement of the litigation, had come into compliance with its discharge permit. The violations could continue if undeterred by the fine sought. A case could only become moot if subsequent events made it absolutely clear that the allegedly wrongful behavior could not reasonably be expected to recur.