A federal judge blocked the government's attempt to seize a supercomputer from UCAR's climate research center, ruling the decision violated the Administrative Procedures Act. The court found the NSF's action was "arbitrary and capricious" with "failure to articulate any rationale" for relieving UCAR of its management role. The government admitted it hadn't fully evaluated public comments on the transfer.

Internal documents showed dissatisfaction with NCAR's climate research diversity programs, but the government chose not to use these as arguments in court. UCAR presented evidence suggesting the supercomputer seizure was political pressure against Colorado's Democratic governor. The research center is suffering irreparable harm with unusually high staff attrition of specialized personnel difficult to replace.

Judge Jackson issued an injunction preventing the government from forcing NCAR to surrender the supercomputing center resources. While this victory blocks the immediate seizure threat, the center still faces potential breakup, resource transfers, and even sale of its Boulder headquarters. The legal reasoning from this case likely applies to those additional threats unless the government develops new defenses.