Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) filed this action against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the EPA Administrator, and Citibank, N.A., after its federal grant funding under the Clean Communities Investment Accelerator program was frozen. OFN, a nonprofit that channels funding to Community Development Financial Institutions and related partners, had been awarded funds through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund for projects promoting low- and zero-emission technologies. Under the grant agreement, Citibank held and released the funds at OFN’s request. Beginning in March 2025, however, Citibank stopped releasing money, and shortly thereafter OFN received a grant termination notice from the EPA. OFN alleged that the EPA’s termination of its grant was unlawful under the Administrative Procedure Act, inconsistent with the Inflation Reduction Act’s funding mandate, and in violation of constitutional principles including the Appropriations Clause, separation of powers, and due process. Against Citibank, OFN raised breach of contract and related claims for refusing to release the funds. The suit sought declaratory and injunctive relief, including reinstatement of the grant and an order requiring Citibank to release the funds.
On May 9, 2025, the parties jointly requested consolidation with Climate United Fund v. Citibank (25-cv-00698), noting that both cases concerned the same statutory and regulatory framework. They also agreed that the preliminary injunction already issued in Climate United Fund, which barred the EPA from terminating grants and prevented the withdrawal of funds from Citibank, would apply equally to OFN’s grant. The court consolidated the actions, designating Climate United Fund as the lead case. All further filings and proceedings in OFN’s matter are now incorporated into that litigation.
