Justia Government & Administrative Law Opinion Summaries

Appellants filed suit claiming that the FWS had unlawfully denied their requests for permits to import hunting trophies taken from elephant hunts in Zambia in 2005 and 2006. The district court rejected appellants' claims and granted summary judgment to the Government. Because this matter was unripe for review when the district court heard the case and issued its decision, the record on appeal was incomplete. Therefore, the court vacated the judgment and remanded for further consideration. View "Marcum, et al v. Salazar, et al" on Justia Law

Appellee brought a lawsuit challenging 11 C.F.R. 104.20(c)(9), a regulation promulgated by the Federal Election Commission (FEC), that purported to implement section 201(f)(2)(F) of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA), 2 U.S.C. 434. The court held that appellee easily satisfied the requirements of 5 U.S.C. 702 and demonstrated his Article III standing by showing that he would be unable to obtain disclosure of information under the BCRA because of the allegedly unlawful restrictions imposed by section 104.20(c)(9). On the merits, the court held that the district court erred in holding that Congress spoke plainly when it enacted 2 U.S.C. 434(f), thus foreclosing any regulatory construction of the statute by the FEC. Moreover, employing traditional tools of statutory construction, the court did not find that Congress had an intention on the precise question at issue in this case. Indeed, it was doubtful that, in enacting 2 U.S.C 434(f), Congress even anticipated the circumstances that the FEC faced when it promulgated section 104.20(c)(9). The court reversed and vacated summary judgment in favor of appellee, remanding to the district court. Upon remand, the district court shall first refer the matter to the FEC for further consideration. View "Van Hollen, Jr. v. FEC, et al" on Justia Law

Appellants, researchers in the field of adult stem cells who oppose the use of federal funding for the development of embryonic stem cell (ESC) research, filed a complaint seeking declaratory and injunctive relief against the Secretary's implementation of regulations allowing federal funding of such research. The court, applying Chevron analysis, held that the NIH had reasonably interpreted the Dickey-Wicker Amendment's ban on funding "research in which . . . embryos are destroyed" to allow federal funding of ESC research. Further, the preliminary-injunction exception was not applicable to the law-of-the-case preclusion. The court also held that the NIH's interpretation of the Dickey-Wicker Amendment's actual language was reasonable and the NIH's decision to dismiss the comments categorically objecting to ESC was not arbitrary or capricious. Accordingly, the court affirmed summary judgment in favor of the government. View "Sherley, et al. v. Sebelius, et al." on Justia Law

This appeal stemmed from a petition to review the EPA's August 2011 implementation of the statutory good neighbor requirement, the Transport Rule, also known as the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, which defined emissions reduction responsibilities for 28 upwind States based on those States' contributions to downwind States' air quality problems. The court held that the Transport Rule exceeded the EPA's statutory authority (1) by using the good neighbor provision to impose massive emissions reduction requirements on upwind States without regard to the limits imposed by the statutory text and (2) by departing from its consistent prior approach to implementing the good neighbor provision and violating the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq., because it did not allow the States the initial opportunity to implement the required reductions with respect to sources within their borders. View "EME Homer City Generation, L.P v. EPA" on Justia Law

Petitioners, trade associations whose members were part of the petroleum and food industries, filed petitions for review of two Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decisions approving the introduction of E15 - a blend of gasoline and fifteen percent ethanol - for use in select motor vehicles and engines. Petitioners were members of several industry groups, which the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals divided into an engine-products group, a petroleum group, and a food group. Petitioners contended, among other things, that EPA lacked authority under the Clean Air Act to grant partial waivers approving the use of E15. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed all petitions for lack of jurisdiction, holding that none of the petitioners had established standing to bring this action. View "Grocery Mfrs. Ass'n v. EPA " on Justia Law

The Fish and Wildlife Services, an agency in the Department of the Interior, removed the West Virginia Northern Flying Squirrel from the list of endangered species. Friends of Blackwater filed a complaint in the district court claiming (1) promulgation of the delisting rule violated the Endangered Species Act by ignoring the objective, measurable criteria in the Recovery Plan and (2) the Rule itself was arbitrary and capricious. The district court entered summary judgment for the plaintiff on the ground that the Service violated the Act by removing the squirrel from the list of endangered species when several criteria in the agency's Recovery Plan for the species had not been satisfied. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed, holding (1) the district court erred by interpreting the Recovery Plan as binding the Secretary of the Interior in his delisting decision; and (2) the Service's action was not arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to law. View "Friends of Blackwater v. Salazar" on Justia Law

The Council of the City of New Orleans and the Louisiana Public Service Commission petitioned for review of an order of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) allowing two companies to withdraw from a regional energy system agreement without paying exit fees. FERC concluded that there was nothing in the agreement that compelled payments prior to withdrawal. FERC found that, under the terms of the agreement, (1) withdrawing companies were not obligated to pay exit fees, and (2) once companies left the agreement, they no longer needed to continue to make rough equalization payments. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals denied the petitions for review, holding that FERC's findings were reasonable. View "Council of City of New Orleans v. FERC" on Justia Law

Underlying this appeal was the case of Center for Biological Diversity v. Interior, in which the Court vacated a five-year program for expanding leases for oil and gas development in the coast of Alaska. The U.S. Department of Interior, which approved the program, then issued a new five-year program. Here, the Native Village of Point Hope, Alaska, petitioned the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals for reimbursement of attorneys' fees and costs it incurred in this matter. The D.C. Circuit allowed reimbursement in the amount of $192,293 in fees and $8,493 in costs, for a total reimbursement of $200,786.

Appellants were executives at the Purdue Frederick Company when it misbranded the painkiller OxyContin a schedule II controlled substance. The Company was convicted of fraudulent misbranding, and the executives were convicted under the "responsible corporate officer" doctrine of the misdemeanor of misbranding a drug. Based upon their convictions, the Secretary of Health and Human Services later excluded the individuals from participation in federal health care programs for twelve years under 42 U.S.C. 1320a-7(b). Appellants sought review, arguing that the statute did not authorize their exclusion and the Secretary's decision was unsupported by substantial evidence and was arbitrary and capricious. The district court granted summary judgment for the Secretary. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed, holding (1) the statute authorized the Secretary's exclusion of Appellants, but (2) the Secretary's decision was arbitrary and capricious for want of a reasoned explanation for the length of the exclusions.

Sutter East Bay Hospitals sought review of a National Labor Relations Board (Board) order concluding that Sutter East Bay violated the National Labor Relations Act. The Board cross-applied for enforcement of that order. Sutter East Bay conceded that it engaged in illegal surveillance of its employees' union activities, and the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals granted the Board's application for enforcement of that determination. The Court also granted the Board's application for enforcement of the finding that Sutter East Bay unlawfully changed its solicitation policy to stifle support for a new labor union. The Court agreed with Sutter East Bay, however, that the ALJ failed to properly apply the appropriate legal standard in determining that the employer unlawfully disciplined its employee and granted Sutter East Bay's petition for review with regard to those disciplinary actions. Remanded to the Board for rehearing.