Republican state lawmakers celebrated after a federal judge denied vehicle inspection vendor Gordon-Darby’s attempt to impose penalties on New Hampshire. As reported by NH Journal, U.S. District Court Judge Landya McCafferty ruled the state was moving to comply with her injunction and should not be punished, prompting a victory lap from House Republicans.
NH Journal set the stage for the dispute over the repealed inspection mandate. The vendor that ran the program went to court to force the state back into it.
New Hampshire legislators voted to end mandatory inspections, and the vendor that oversaw the program has gone to court to force the state back into the inspection-sticker business.
NH Journal
House Majority Leader Jason Osborne responded to the ruling in a statement.
We will not be blackmailed by an out-of-state, foreign, former contractor. No matter how much legal warfare Gordon-Darby tries to wage, the reality has not changed: mandatory car inspections are dead in New Hampshire,
Jason Osborne
According to NH Journal, the company is using the federal courts to try to force the state to rehire it. It built its claim around federal environmental law.
The company brought a lawsuit soon after the inspection regime was repealed last year, claiming the state is violating the Clean Air Act by ditching the windshield-sticker program.
NH Journal
NH Journal reported on the contempt motion the vendor filed and how it fared in court.
After convincing the judge to issue an injunction against the state’s plan to end the inspection regime, Gordon-Darby filed a motion to hold New Hampshire officials in contempt for failing to immediately rehire the Kentucky-based company to resume inspections. It lost.
NH Journal
The outlet summarized the judge’s reasoning, NH Journal reported.
McCafferty ruled Wednesday that New Hampshire is moving to comply with the injunction without Gordon-Darby and should therefore not be penalized.
NH Journal
Read the full story at NH Journal.
