US Forest Service Leans on Judge to Dismiss
Posted on: 6:13 pm, March 31, 2014, by Ben Winslow, updated on: 06:38am, April 1, 2014 FOX13.com
“SALT LAKE CITY — The U.S. Forest Service has asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed over Alta ski resort’s snowboarding ban.
In court papers filed late Monday in U.S. District Court here, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Utah asked a judge to dismiss the case. The government says it has sovereign immunity and the group Wasatch Equality has “failed to state a claim on which relief can be granted” under the Fifth Amendment right to due process.
Read the U.S. Forest Service filing here.
In the filing, the federal government also said it has discretion about what activities can take place on public lands.
“For example, the United States may decide to allow fishing within a wildlife refuge, but it may choose to limit particular waters within that refuge only to fly fishing, which necessarily excludes other type of fishing,” assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Bennett wrote.
Wasatch Equality is suing Alta ski resort and the federal government over its snowboarding ban, claiming it violates their rights to equal protection under the U.S. Constitution. In a filing last week, Alta said snowboarders are not a protected class of people.
A hearing in the case is expected in the coming weeks.”
See our original report of the lawsuit here.
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