New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy filed an amended lawsuit in federal court to stop congestion pricing after a judge and another court earlier this month denied a preliminary injunction, which essentially signaled where the judge stood.
“I think this is a last gasp attempt to get the court to intervene in congestion pricing,” Michael Gerrard, an environmental lawyer and law professor at Columbia School of Law, said. “The sorts of arguments they’re raising now are the same sorts that have been rejected by both the federal courts in New York and New Jersey, but you never know for sure what’s going to come out.”
Gerrard says that initial argument was that the Federal Highway Administration rubber-stamped the tolling plan, despite the over 4,000 page environmental assessment. Now New Jersey’s amended lawsuit claims the reevaluations from when the $15 toll was approved and when it was lowered to $9 were also insufficient.
“What the courts have consistently said is, what they want to make sure is that the proper procedures were followed and all the issues that needed to be looked at were looked at,” Gerrard said. “And I think that the Federal Highway Administration and the MTA are demonstrating that they have looked at all the issues. There just may be disagreement on where you come out on them.”
It’s unclear whether Judge Leo Gordon will even allow for the amended suit. He already rejected one attempt at it. But if he does, there could be a complication in court because of the new administration in Washington and lawmakers like Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, who keep telling President Trump to kill the program.
“So it could be that the lawyers for the federal government are told to switch sides,” Gerrard said. “And usually what the court will do is ask them for a good explanation of why. The fact that we have a different administration is not enough.”
MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber says he isn’t worried.
“We’re batting one thousand. We won every lawsuit in every procedural episode so far and we’ll take them as they come,” Lieber said on Friday. “Obviously, the New Jersey lawsuit has been unsuccessful at every stage.”
As for the six other federal cases still pending in New York, Gerrard believes the two judge’s opinions in denying temporary restraining orders made clear they are effectively done.
There are still suits outstanding from the town of Hempstead, with one pending in state court that the MTA is trying to move from Nassau County to New York County.