The US Supreme Court recently issued two shadow docket decisions, indicating that suits contesting grant terminations should be brought in the Court of Federal Claims rather than in a federal district court. But in a recent decision, the US District Court for the Western District of Washington found that it had jurisdiction over a suit challenging the termination of two cooperative agreements.
The State of Washington sued the government, objecting to the termination of two cooperative agreements. The government argued that Washington’s claims were essentially contract, which must, under the Tucker Act, be filed in the Court of Federal Claims, not federal district. But the district rejected the government’s argument, finding that the source of the rights Washington sought to vindicate were statutory and Constitutional, not contractual. Washington asserted the termination violated the Administrative Procedures Act and the Constitution. They were not contingent on any rights in the agreements themselves. The court ultimately entered a preliminary injunction that precluded termination of the agreements.