In A Precedential Ruling, 3rd Circuit Denies Nuns’ RFRA Challenge To Pipeline

Mealey's (November 9, 2022, 2:38 PM EST) -- PHILADELPHIA — In a precedential opinion, a panel of the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 8 ruled that a lawsuit brought by Roman Catholic nuns who opposed a hydraulic fracturing pipeline underneath the grounds of their property pursuant to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) constituted an impermissible collateral attack on the certificate granted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) because the order’s claim should have been raised with the commission....