Property developers recently threatened Lake Mary Jane in Orange County, Florida with plans to develop the lake and 1,900 acres of wetlands and forest into residential and commercial buildings. Attorney Steven Meyers in turn filed a lawsuit against the developers to stop the construction on the grounds that it would “adversely impact the lakes and marsh,” and cause irreparable injury.
This is the first case of natural entities suing in defense of their own rights in a U.S. courtroom. It follows a “rights of nature” law from November 2020, which Orange County created and passed to protect water sources from a threat like property development.
No U.S. court has upheld local ordinances like these when challenged to date. But as climate change has escalated environmental crises in recent years, movements to grant legal rights for nature are brought with more fervor. And since environmental laws in place often fail to protect natural entities from infringing human agendas, this current suit could potentially gain enough attention to incite a positive shift in the legal system.
