The temporary restraining order was obtained in order to “preserve the status quo,” according to the court document, and it will expire before March 25.
A US District Judge has ruled in favour of the Texas Blockchain Council (TBC) and Bitcoin mining company Riot Platforms in their legal battle against multiple US energy agencies.
According to a report published on February 22, the TBC and Riot said that the leadership of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Energy Information Administration (EIA), and the U.S. Department of Energy had requested a “invasive” method of data collecting from bitcoin miners.
The TBC and Riot persuaded the judge that irrevocable harm will occur in the absence of a temporary restraining order (TRO) prohibiting future data gathering, according to a filing made on February 23 in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas.
Consequently, the court issued a TRO that forbids the EIA from requesting cryptocurrency miners to reply to the survey and from disseminating any survey data that has already been obtained.
The Court concludes that the Plaintiffs have demonstrated, by means of a validated complaint and corroborating proof, that the failure to issue a TRO will cause immediate and irreversible harm, loss, or damage.
According to the TBC and Riot, the possible damages include non-recoverable survey compliance expenses, a real threat of legal action if they don’t comply, and the mandated revelation of private information. There was also dispute over how long the survey would take miners to complete on a volunteer basis.
The EIA predicted that the project would take about 30 minutes to complete, but the court found that this estimate was “extremely inaccurate.”
Riot and the TBC, meanwhile, contested the estimate, claiming that the total cost of compliance to date has exceeded 40 hours.
The judge determined that TBC and Riot have a good chance of winning the action based on the evidence presented. It further claimed that the EIA had improperly utilised its power to allow the emergency survey, a decision the court determined “falls far short of justifying such an action.”
Additionally, plaintiffs show that they have a good chance of winning on their merits. According to the filing, the poll was suggested and authorised in accordance with a PRA emergency clause.
It was also mentioned that the TRO will expire before March 25 and that its goal during the four weeks would be to “preserve the status quo.”