Calling the matter “consequential for both sides,” a federal judge in San Francisco has set an expedited hearing on artificial intelligence developer Anthropic’s motion for a preliminary injunction against the U.S. Department of War and other federal agencies.
Anthropic’s lawsuit, filed Monday, arises from its Feb. 27 designation as a “supply chain risk” and accompanying directive from Secretary Pete Hegseth that “(e)ffective immediately, no contractor, supplier, or partner that does business with the United States military may conduct any commercial activity with Anthropic.”
Anthropic argues that Hegseth acted in retaliation for Anthropic and CEO Dario Amodei’s public position on AI safety, in violation of the First Amendment’s protection of freedom of speech. The company also argues that the government’s directive violated the requirements of the relevant federal statutes as well as the constitutional prohibition against depriving a person of property without due process of law.
Anthropic asked the court to enter a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction to preserve the status quo while the case is litigated. A TRO is a short-term order entered at the start of a lawsuit that preserves the status quo for a short period. A preliminary injunction provides similar relief that can run the full period the lawsuit is pending, often several years.
The standards for obtaining either a TRO or a preliminary injunction are very high. The moving party must show, among other things, a substantial likelihood that it will win the case in the end, and, in the meantime, that it will suffer irreparable injury if the court doesn’t intervene.
Anthropic’s court filings detailed the many ways in which the government’s actions have severely damaged its business, not only through the loss of government contracts but by threatening its relationships with its customers. Anthropic estimates potential losses in the hundreds of millions to billions of dollars.
Anthropic makes case for speedy decision
At a Tuesday status conference, U.S. District Judge Rita Lin of the Northern District of California suggested that instead of considering a TRO, she would be receptive to moving directly to a hearing on the preliminary injunction as early as April 3.
Anthropic’s counsel, Michael Mongan of the law firm WilmerHale, told Lin that each day that passes, Anthropic is incurring grave and irreparable injury from the government’s conduct.
He pressed for a quicker hearing not only because of continuing harm from action already taken by the secretary, but the possibility that the government might take more retaliatory action before the hearing.
Lin asked James Harlow, the U.S. Department of Justice lawyer representing the government, whether he would provide a commitment that no new adverse actions would occur before the hearing.
Harlow said he would not. Lin then decided to move the hearing on the preliminary injunction up to March 24 at 1:30 p.m.
A number of organizations involved in AI development and/or safety have requested Lin to allow them to file amicus or “friend of the court” briefs in support of Anthropic.
As proof that strange bedfellows are not solely the subject of politics, one group seeking amicus status is made up of employees from both Anthropic and OpenAI, even though the latter company is a competitor of Anthropic. Similarly, Microsoft, one of OpenAI’s biggest investors, has requested the opportunity to file an amicus brief in support of a TRO for Anthropic.
The post Judge fast-tracks hearing on Anthropic’s injunction request against War Department appeared first on Local News Matters.