Team Kennedy v. Francisco V. Aguilar

• Court: District Court, D. Nevada
• Decided: January 27, 2025
• Docket: 2:24-cv-01027
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

1 2 3 4 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 5 DISTRICT OF NEVADA 6 * * *

7 TEAM KENNEDY, Case No.2:24-CV-1027 JCM (MDC)

8 Plaintiff(s), ORDER 9 v.

10 FRANCISCO V. AGUILAR,

11 Defendant(s).

12 13 Presently before the court is Somos PAC’s motion to intervene. (ECF No. 4). No response 14 has been filed. For the reasons stated below, the court DENIES the motion as moot. 15 This case involves Robert F. Kennedy’s political organization, Team Kennedy, and Nevada 16 Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar. Team Kennedy filed a complaint in May seeking declaratory 17 and injunctive relief to display Kennedy’s name on the 2024 general election ballot. (ECF No. 1). 18 Aguilar never answered the complaint. Somos PAC thereafter filed a motion to intervene, 19 claiming the case threatened Somos’ interest as a political action committee. (ECF No.4). 20 “[T]he doctrine of mootness can be described as ‘the doctrine of standing set in a time 21 frame: The requisite personal interest that must exist at the commencement of the litigation 22 (standing) must continue throughout its existence (mootness).’” Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. 23 Laidlaw Envtl. Servs. (TOC), Inc., 528 U.S. 167, 189 (2000) (quoting Arizonans for Official 24 English v. Arizona, 520 U.S. 43, 68 n.22 (1997)). “A case that becomes moot at any point during 25 the proceedings is ‘no longer a ‘Case’ or ‘Controversy’ for purposes of Article III,’ and is outside 26 the jurisdiction of the federal courts.” United States v. Sanchez-Gomez, 138 S. Ct. 1532, 1537 27 (2018) (quoting Already, LLC v. Nike, Inc., 568 U.S. 85, 91 (2013)). 28 1 The court finds that the factual circumstances underlying the proposed intervenor’s motion 2 no longer exists. Somos’ alleged interest in the action concerned only the proceedings and 3 outcome of the 2024 general election. Because the court cannot ascertain any continued interest 4 that would require it to grant the present motion to intervene, the court denies the motion as moot. 5 Accordingly, 6 IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED that Somos PAC’s motion to 7 intervene (ECF No. 4) be, and the same hereby is, DENIED. 8 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the plaintiff in this case, Team Kennedy, must file a 9 status update with the court within 21 days of this order, informing the court why this case should 10 not be dismissed as moot.

11 DATED January 27, 2025. 12 ________________________________________ 13 UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28