A 13-state coalition led by West Virginia and Attorney General Morrisey filed suit shortly after the passage of ARPA in March 2021 in Alabama federal court, seeking a permanent injunction against the ARPA tax cut prohibition. That injunction was granted in November 2021, but the Treasury Department appealed the decision. The 11th Circuit heard arguments from both sides in September 2022.
“I’m pleased the 11th Circuit saw the case the way we did: it’s about states’ sovereignty,” Morrisey said in a statement. “Our lawsuit was designed to protect West Virginia from federal overreach. We have fought back against that overreach with the November 2021 win in district court, but the Biden administration kept on insisting their interpretation of the law is correct. It was not, and the court agreed.”