Dee Benson - Selected Rulings

Selected Rulings

Impact Energy Resources, LLC, et al. vs. Ken Salazar, et al.: Case No. 2:09-cv-435 and 2:09-cv-440. This lawsuit was filed by three energy companies along with the Utah counties of Carbon, Uintah and Duchene against Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and related federal authorities. The case involved 77 gas and oil drilling leases that were cancelled by Secretary Salazar in February 2009. The plaintiffs sought to overturn the action by Secretary Salazar. Judge Benson ruled in favor of Salazar because the lawsuit was not filed within the statute of limitations mandating the filing of any challenge within 90 days of the Secretary’s decision. He did, however, acknowledge that, “In this case, the secretary exceeded his statutory authority by withdrawing leases after determining which parcels were to be leased and after holding a competitive lease sale.” Also in his ruling Judge Benson stated, “The plain language of the Mineral Leasing Act mandates the Secretary of Interior to accept bids and issues leases as part of the competitive leasing process for oil and gas leases. Ultimately though, the plaintiff’s claims are time barred.”

The United States of America vs. Tim DeChristopher: Case No. 2:09-CR-183. Tim DeChristopher was indicted in U.S. Federal District Court for bidding on Federal energy leases without intent to pay for them. He claimed that he did so as an act of civil disobedience. In March, 2011, after a four-day jury trial, DeChristopher was convicted and "faces up to five years on each of the two counts — disrupting a federal auction and making false statements on federal forms to enter the auction — and up to $750,000 in total fines. Sentencing was set for June 23. ... Judge ... Benson strictly limited how much the defense could say about federal energy policies and climate change, which Mr. DeChristopher has said in numerous interviews were his primary motivations in going to the auction." The prosecutor in the case was Assistant United States Attorney Scott B. Romney. On July 26, 2011, Benson sentenced DeChristopher to two years in prison and a fine of $10,000.

The Salt Lake Tribune, et al. vs. Elaine Chao, The U.S. Secretary of Labor, et al.: Case No. 2:07-cv-739. This suit was commenced by several Utah media organizations seeking access to documents relating to the Crandall Canyon mine collapse that killed six miners and three rescue workers in Utah. In dismissing the complaint, Judge Benson noted that, "It is not this court's or any other court's role to make law, only to interpret it." Plaintiffs contended that public access to the investigation would help insure accuracy. Judge Benson stated in his ruling, "The court finds many of these policy arguments persuasive," Benson wrote, but said it was not his place to make such decisions. "While it may be true that requiring all government investigations to be open would result in greater accountability and more accurate information, if such a requirement is to be imposed, it must come from a statute that is debated and passed by Congress and signed into law by the president.”

Summum vs. Duchesne City, et al.: Case No. 2:03-cv-1049. Summum is a religious group that sued the City of Pleasant Grove, Utah for the right to install a monolith containing their core beliefs next to an existing monolith of the Ten Commandments. The group contended that their First Amendment Rights were violated by the existence of the Ten Commandments monument. Judge Benson ruled against the group, holding their right to free speech had not been violated. The case was then appealed and heard by the Tenth Circuit Court who overturned Judge Benson’s previous decision. Rather than allow Summum to place their monolith, the City of Pleasant Grove removed the Ten Commandments monolith. The case was then accepted and heard by The Supreme Court of the United States. The Court issued a unanimous ruling (No. 07-665) in favor of the city of Pleasant Grove No. 07–665 on February 25, 2009. The court found that monuments that were privately funded were considered government speech and therefore not in violation of any one group’s First Amendment rights. In his opinion, Justice Samuel Alito analogized that, if the law accorded with Summum and its "civil liberties" supporters, New York City would have been required to accept a Statue of Autocracy from the German Empire or Imperial Russia when it accepted the Statue of Liberty from France.

Caldera vs. Microsoft: Case No. 2:96-cv-645 B. This case mirrored the much larger anti-trust case against Microsoft in Washington D.C. Utah based Caldera, Inc. brought the anti-trust suit against Microsoft for the anti-competitive practice of encoding Microsoft Windows 95 to only run properly if MS-DOS, a Microsoft product, was being used. Caldera’s claim was that this practice unfairly inhibited the competition by eliminating DR-DOS as an alternative. Justice Benson denied 4 Motions for Summary Judgment by Microsoft to have the case dismissed. The case was eventually settled by the parties.