ex rel. Long v. SCS Bus. & Technical Inst., 173 F.3d 890, 892-93 (D.C.Cir.1999) (suggesting that a court may accept a stale's invitation to decide the merits first). 4 . It is arguable that Harris may not recover tobacco funds that have already been deposited in the state treasury and appropriated for other uses. It is unclear from the record how much money (if any) the state has actually received to date. With respect to these funds, the alleged violation may be the wrongful appropriation of money that belonged to Harris. This action would be wholly in the past, and ordering Defendants to pay Harris for that past conduct would likely be considered "the practical equivalent of money damages." ANR Pipeline, 150 F.3d at 1189; cf. Johns v. Stewart, 57 F.3d 1544, 1554-55 (10th Cir.1995) (<HOLDING>). We need not resolve this issue definitively,
holding that a suit seeking to recover withheld socialsecurity benefits was barred as to past withholdings but could proceed as to future withholdings holding that debtor was liable to the commonwealth for past and future cleanup costs holding plaintiff must move before public interests are involved to bring suit for ejectment but allowing single action for past present and future damages holding that carriers consent required if past and future benefits might exceed settlement holding that a city could not use past conduct to enjoin future protected speech