Sue and Settle

What happens when lawsuits quietly shape public policy—without a full trial, public scrutiny, or legislative debate? In this episode of Sanity Check, David R. Legates unpacks the controversial practice known as “sue-and-settle.” What begins as a seemingly straightforward legal mechanism—citizens holding agencies accountable—can, in practice, become something far more complex. Through negotiated settlements between advocacy groups and federal agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency, ...