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

Decided January 12, 2000. Ruth Bader Ginsburg delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 98-822 · 528 U.S. 167 (2000) · Cited 6,373 times

Holding

The Fourth Circuit erred in concluding that a citizen suitor’s claim for civil penalties must be dismissed as moot when the defendant, after commencement of the litigation, has come into compliance with its NPDES permit.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 7–2.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• City of Los Angeles v. Lyons · 461 U.S. 95 (1983)
• Linda R. S. v. Richard D. · 410 U.S. 614 (1973)
• Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife · 504 U.S. 555 (1992)
• Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Environment · 523 U.S. 83 (1998)
• Arizonans for Official English v. Arizona · 520 U.S. 43 (1997)
• Farrar v. Hobby · 506 U.S. 103 (1992)
• Lujan v. National Wildlife Federation · 497 U.S. 871 (1990)
• Gladstone, Realtors v. Village of Bellwood · 441 U.S. 91 (1979)
• City of Mesquite v. Aladdin's Castle, Inc. · 455 U.S. 283 (1982)
• United States v. Concentrated Phosphate Export Assn., Inc. · 393 U.S. 199 (1968)
• Hudson v. United States · 522 U.S. 93 (1997)
• Schlesinger v. Reservists Committee to Stop the War · 418 U.S. 208 (1974)
• Tull v. United States · 481 U.S. 412 (1987)
• Lewis v. Casey · 518 U.S. 343 (1996)
• Powell v. McCormack · 395 U.S. 486 (1969)
• Lewis v. Continental Bank Corp. · 494 U.S. 472 (1990)
• Honig v. Doe · 484 U.S. 305 (1988)
• United States Parole Commission v. Geraghty · 445 U.S. 388 (1980)
• Department of Revenue of Mont. v. Kurth Ranch · 511 U.S. 767 (1994)
• Gwaltney of Smithfield, Ltd. v. Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Inc. · 484 U.S. 49 (1987)
• Tigner v. Texas · 310 U.S. 141 (1940)
• Hunt v. Washington State Apple Advertising Commission · 432 U.S. 333 (1977)
• Simon v. Eastern Kentucky Welfare Rights Organization · 426 U.S. 26 (1976)
• Spencer v. Kemna · 523 U.S. 1 (1998)
• Flast v. Cohen · 392 U.S. 83 (1968)
• Sierra Club v. Morton · 405 U.S. 727 (1972)
• Whitmore Ex Rel. Simmons v. Arkansas · 495 U.S. 149 (1990)
• Steffel v. Thompson · 415 U.S. 452 (1974)
• United States v. W. T. Grant Co. · 345 U.S. 629 (1953)
• FW/PBS, Inc. v. City of Dallas · 493 U.S. 215 (1990)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Summers v. Earth Island Institute · 555 U.S. 488 (2009)
• Davis v. Federal Election Commission · 554 U.S. 724 (2008)
• Clapper v. Amnesty International USA · 568 U.S. 398 (2013)
• Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins · 578 U.S. 330 (2016)
• Buckhannon Board & Care Home, Inc. v. West Virginia Dept. of Health and Human Resources · 532 U.S. 598 (2001)
• Already, LLC v. Nike, Inc. · 568 U.S. 85 (2013)
• FBI v. Fikre · 601 U.S. 234 (2024)
• Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer · 582 U.S. 449 (2017)
• TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez · 594 U.S. 413 (2021)
• DaimlerChrysler Corp. v. Cuno · 547 U.S. 332 (2006)
• Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez · 577 U.S. 153 (2016)
• Town of Chester v. Laroe Estates, Inc. · 581 U.S. 433 (2017)
• Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. · 551 U.S. 587 (2007)
• Thole v. U. S. Bank N. A. · 590 U.S. 538 (2020)
• Pacific Bell Telephone Co. v. Linkline Communications, Inc. · 555 U.S. 438 (2009)
• Department of Transportation v. Association of American Railroads · 575 U.S. 43 (2015)
• Frank v. Gaos · 586 U.S. 485 (2019)
• Alabama Legislative Black Caucus v. Alabama · 575 U.S. 254 (2015)
• West Virginia v. EPA · 597 U.S. 697 (2022)
• Grupo Dataflux v. Atlas Global Group, L. P. · 541 U.S. 567 (2004)
• Carney v. Adams · 592 U.S. 53 (2020)
• City News & Novelty, Inc. v. City of Waukesha · 531 U.S. 278 (2001)
• Murthy v. Missouri · 603 U.S. 43 (2024)
• Lackey v. Stinnie · 604 U.S. 192 (2025)
• Vermont Agency of Natural Resources v. United States Ex Rel. Stevens · 529 U.S. 765 (2000)
• City of Erie v. Pap's A. M. · 529 U.S. 277 (2000)
• Kowalski v. Tesmer · 543 U.S. 125 (2004)
• Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski · 592 U.S. 279 (2021)
• Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 · 551 U.S. 701 (2007)
• Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn v. Cuomo · 592 U.S. 14 (2020)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2000). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).