NAW asks court to pause Oregon EPR fees pending appeal

The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors has asked a court to pause Oregon's extended producer responsibility fees while its legal challenge proceeds, with the motion aimed at keeping protection in place for the organization's members before new invoices arrive in January 2027.

The request targets the fee mechanism at the center of Oregon's Packaging and Paper EPR program. NAW's members face obligations under the program, and the organization has challenged the fee structure in court. The new motion seeks a stay: a court-ordered pause that would suspend fee collection while the underlying appeal runs its course.

What does the motion ask for?

NAW's filing does not end the litigation. It asks the court for interim relief. The organization wants its members held harmless from the next billing cycle, which begins with invoices scheduled to reach obligated parties in January 2027.

The timing is the point. Without a pause, members would receive and potentially have to pay invoices before the appeal concludes. A favorable ruling later would arrive after the money has moved. The motion exists to close that gap between payment date and judgment date.

• Who filed: NAW, on behalf of its wholesaler-distributor members
• What is sought: A stay of Oregon EPR fee obligations during the appeal
• Key date: New invoices arrive January 2027
• Purpose: Keep protection in place for members until the appellate court rules

Why the January 2027 date matters

The invoice deadline gives the dispute a hard clock. Any pause must be in place before those bills go out. After that, the practical question shifts from whether members owe fees to whether they can recover fees already paid.

That distinction shapes litigation strategy on both sides. A stay preserves the status quo. No stay means the fee regime operates as designed while the appeal proceeds, and members carry the cash-flow burden of compliance in the interim.

Oregon's EPR program obligates producers of packaging and paper products to fund the end-of-life management of those materials. The fee schedules that implement that obligation are what NAW has contested. The appeal now runs against the program's administrative calendar rather than beside it.

What happens next

The court must rule on the stay motion, and that ruling — not the merits of the appeal itself — determines what obligated parties face when January 2027 arrives. A granted stay pauses the fee exposure for NAW members. A denied stay leaves them invoiced on schedule while the appeal continues.

The appellate ruling on the underlying challenge then decides the longer-term question: whether the fee structure stands as issued or must be revised. Circular Wire will track both the stay decision and the appeal as deadlines approach.