State Lawsuits Database
Scroll down on this page for a fully searchable table containing information regarding state AG lawsuits brought against the federal government from 1980 to the present. Clicking on each entry will provide additional information about each case. For many cases, you can access the original complaint in the case by clicking on the case caption. For completed cases with a judicial decision, you can access the final court opinion in the case by clicking the citation.
Click here for a statistical overview of lawsuits vs. recent administrations.
Lawsuits vs. the Federal Government, by Administration
The summary below indicates the number of state lawsuits against the Biden, Trump, and Obama Administrations (click on the tabs to see the table summary for each administration).
| Type of Multistate Intervention | # of Lawsuits in Category |
Cumulative Total | Democratic AG-Led Lawsuits | Republican AG-Led Lawsuits | Bipartisan Lawsuits |
| States as Initial Plaintiffs | 60 | 60 | 3* | 55 | 2 |
| Consolidated State Plaintiffs | 1 | 61 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| States as Successful Intervenors | 1 | 62 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Single State Plaintiff, Multistate Amici | 5 | 67 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| States as Failed Intervenors | 1 | 68 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Type of Multistate Intervention | # of Lawsuits in Category | Cumulative Total | Democratic AG-Led Lawsuits | Republican AG-Led Lawsuits | Bipartisan Lawsuits |
| States as Initial Plaintiffs | 135 | 135 | 131 | 4* | 0 |
| Consolidated State Plaintiffs | 0 | 135 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| States as Successful Intervenors | 12 | 147 | 11 | 0 | 1 |
| Single State Plaintiff, Multistate Amici | 8 | 155 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| States as Failed Intervenors | 5 | 160 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Type of Multistate Intervention | # of Lawsuits in Category | Cumulative Total | Democratic AG-Led Lawsuits | Republican AG-Led Lawsuits | Bipartisan Lawsuits |
| States as Initial Plaintiffs | 62 | 62 | 11 | 47 | 4 |
| Consolidated State Plaintiffs | 7 | 69 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| States as Successful Intervenors | 8 | 77 | 0 | 5 | 3 |
| Single State Plaintiff, Multistate Amici | 3 | 80 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| States as Failed Intervenors | 0 | 80 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
*NOTE: This database classifies five Democratic AG-led lawsuits in the early Biden presidency as actually against the Trump Administration, as they challenged regulations adopted late during the Trump presidency. Similarly, two Republican AG-led lawsuits versus the Trump Administration challenged Obama-era regulations and are counted as lawsuits versus the Obama Administration.
Click here for the different definitions of a "multistate lawsuit" as used in this database.
There are several ways of defining what counts as a “multistate lawsuit” in this database. The definitions below proceed from the narrowest to broadest definition. Cases from each of these categories are included in the searchable table, but you can restrict the results to match your preferred definition of “multistate lawsuit” using the “Filter by Type of State Involvement” filter below.
- “States as Initial Plaintiffs” includes cases in which multiple states filed an original complaint or petition, thus initiating the litigation.
- “Consolidated State Plaintiffs” includes cases in which multiple states sued separately, but the courts later consolidated the single-state cases under a single docket.
- “States as Successful Intervenors” includes cases in which multiple states joined an existing non-state lawsuit as intervenors. This typically means that the states joined as plaintiff-intervenors, but can include intervention as defendants if the states take a position contrary to the federal government (e.g. defending Obama-era regulations that the Trump Administration does not defend).
- “Single State Plaintiff, Multistate Amici” includes cases in which only one state appeared as a plaintiff or plaintiff-intervenor against the federal government, but a multistate coalition filed an amicus curiae brief supporting the plaintiff state.
- “States as Failed Intervenors” includes non-state initiated cases in which a multistate coalition sought to intervene, but the court denied the motion to intervene.
The table below is fully searchable using the search bar below. Entering any search terms will automatically filter case descriptions containing only those terms. You can also use the filters below to search for cases involving certain states or outcome results.
Please visit this page for more information on what cases are included in this table and the case collection methods. Charts and aggregate totals using the lawsuit information below are available at this link.
Last Updated: September 2, 2023
Individuals and the media are welcome to use this data for their research or other projects. If used in a published piece, please provide a citation to: Dr. Paul Nolette, AttorneysGeneral.org.