A November 2009 court ruling however reopened the environmental review process. The suit was brought by the cities of Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and Atherton, which opposed elevated high-speed rail tracks running through them and preferred the Altamont Pass route. By September 2010, the rail authority had completed extra studies and reapproved the same route. However, a November 2011 ruling again overturned the approval. The Pacheco Pass alignment was upheld by the California Court of Appeal for the Third District in July 2014.