Climate Superfund case moves toward appeal: New York and the challengers jointly ask Judge Sannes for a Rule 54(b) final judgment and an injunction barring the state from enforcing the $75B law, with remaining claims held pending a 2nd Circuit appeal
First procedural movement since the Aug. 31 ruling. On Sept. 14 (the court's status-report deadline in West Virginia v. James), attorneys for the state and the plaintiffs jointly asked the N.D.N.Y. to (1) enter a declaratory judgment that the Climate Change Superfund Act is preempted, (2) enjoin New York officials from implementing or enforcing it, (3) enter final judgment under Rule 54(b) on the two preemption claims, and (4) administratively close the case and hold the unresolved constitutional claims (Commerce Clause, Due Process, Equal Protection, Excessive Fines, Takings) in abeyance pending appeal. A 54(b) judgment is what lets the state take an immediate appeal to the 2nd Circuit; no notice of appeal has been reported yet. Implementation of the law is effectively on hold. The appeal would run alongside Suncor v. Boulder County, which the Supreme Court hears Oct. 5, 2026 on the same federal-preemption question. Accountability watch: whether AG James files the notice of appeal after judgment is entered, and how the state replaces the $75B in its resilience math if it loses.