On September 12, 2025, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered that the proceedings in Iowa v. SEC – the case challenging the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) landmark climate disclosure rules – remain paused until the SEC either reconsiders the rules through the notice-and-comment rulemaking process or decides to renew its defense of the rules in court.
As we previously reported, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals paused the litigation until further order of the court. In July 2025, the SEC informed the court that it did not intend to revisit the rules and requested that the case proceed. However, in its latest order, the court emphasized that it is the SEC’s responsibility to determine the outcome of its rules – whether to rescind, repeal, modify, or defend them. As a result, the case will remain on hold until the SEC takes further action. The rules have been stayed by the SEC since April 2024, pending the outcome of the litigation.
As discussed in our previous alert, if the SEC desires to rescind, repeal, or modify the rules, it must conduct a notice-and-comment process pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act, unless it demonstrates good cause to bypass that requirement. Given that the SEC withdrew its defense in March 2025, it may be unlikely that the SEC will continue to support them in court.
Public companies are encouraged to closely monitor developments in the litigation and any forthcoming SEC actions that may affect the future of the climate disclosure rules.
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