National Park Hospitality Association v. Department of the Interior

Summary

Justice Thomas, joined by Chief Justice Rehnquist and Justices Scalia, Kennedy, Souter, and Ginsburg, held that the facial challenge to the National Park Service's exclusion of concession contracts from the Contract Disputes Act was unripe. The challenged provision merely stated agency policy, imposed no legal obligations, and did not prevent concessioners from invoking the Act in an actual contract dispute. Uncertainty affecting bidding did not establish hardship, and a particular contract dispute would facilitate judicial review. The Court vacated the appellate judgment insofar as it addressed the provision's validity and remanded with instructions to dismiss that issue. Justice Stevens concurred in the judgment alone, reasoning that the association lacked standing because it had not identified a specific injury, although he considered the legal issue otherwise ripe. Justice Breyer, joined by Justice O'Connor, dissented, finding standing and ripeness based on present bidding costs and likely future contractual injuries; he would have affirmed on the merits.