9th Circ. Gives $5B Hawaii Rail Project Green Light

Nossaman Partner Robert Thornton was mentioned in the Law360 article "9th Circ. Gives $5B Hawaii Rail Project Green Light" regarding the major victory allowing Honolulu's high-speed, elevated rail project to move forward. 

The Ninth Circuit affirmed a Hawaii federal court's dismissal of the suit alleging state and federal transportation officials violated federal laws by failing to consider transit alternatives or properly vetting the impact that the planned rail route would have on historic sites before approving plans for the city's 20-mile elevated-rail project.  The three-judge panel held that the project's final environmental impact statement complied with the National Environmental Policy Act and that the project complied with Section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act.