Hesai Technology Co., Ltd v. DOD

Summary

The court held that Hesai's challenge to its 2024 designation remained live despite a later designation, because the record did not establish that the earlier designation had no continuing reputational effect or that the procedural violation would not recur. The designation implicated a protected liberty interest because it combined reputational harm with automatic exclusion from specified government contracts and financial assistance, yet the Secretary provided neither pre-deprivation notice of the unclassified materials on which he intended to rely nor a meaningful opportunity to respond. The court rejected the harmless-error defense, declined to reach the APA claims, and reversed and remanded without vacating the designation.