In District Court, the U.S. opposed plaintiff Sedfrey Linsangan's motion for a preliminary injunction that would restrain the defendant from moving forward with the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, as Linsangan's complaint seeks to extend the prohibition of animal fighting to include live bird fights.

The prohibition takes effect on Dec. 20, 2019. The United States argues that the plaintiff's request fails because it does not show there is a likelihood of success and because it did not establish irreparable harm.

Court documents state "Congress is well within its constitutional bounds in enacting the legislation at issues" Linsangan filed the complaint against the U.S. on Nov. 7 to exempt the island from the farm bill that bans cockfighting, arguing it is in violation of the constitutional rights of the people of Guam.