Justia U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved of the South Coast Air Quality Management District’s Rule 317 as a revision to California’s State Implementation Plan for the Clean Air Act (CAA). The EPA approved the Rule pursuant to section 172(e) of the CAA - the so-called “anti-backsliding” provision - which allows for not less stringent alternative controls, finding that the pollution controls the Rule imposed were not less stringent than section 185 of the CAA. In its analysis, the EPA interpreted the statute to mean that the CAA’s anti-backsliding provisions apply when air quality standards have been strengthened as well as when they have been relaxed. The Ninth Circuit affirmed, holding (1) the EPA reasonably found that section 172(e) contained an ambiguous gap; (2) the EPA’s interpretation of the ambiguity was reasonable; and (3) EPA’s approval of Rule 317 as an alternative program was proper. View "Natural Res. Defense Counsel v. U.S. Envtl. Prot. Agency" on Justia Law

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) led the effort to clean up nuclear waste at the Hanford Nuclear Site in Washington state. URS Energy & Construction, Inc. (“URS Energy”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of URS Corporation, worked as a subcontractor on the project. An employee of URS Energy brought this action alleging violations of the Energy Reorganization Act (“ERA”) whistleblower protection provision concerning the cleanup efforts. The district court dismissed the DOE from the suit and granted summary judgment in favor of URS Corp. and URS Energy. The Ninth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part, holding (1) the DOE and URS Corp. were correctly dismissed for lack of administrative exhaustion, but administrative exhaustion was sufficient as to URS Energy; and (2) the employee introduced sufficient evidence to create a triable issue as to whether his whistleblowing activity was a contributing factor in the adverse employment action URS Energy took against him, and there were other existing genuine issues of fact that precluded summary judgment to URS Energy. Remanded. View "Tamosaitis v. URS Inc." on Justia Law

The California Dump Truck Owners Association (Truck Association) initiated a federal preemption challenge to a California environmental regulation. The district court dismissed the suit, finding that the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) approval of the regulation as part of California’s state implementation plan (SIP) divested the court of jurisdiction under the Clean Air Act (CAA). The Truck Association appealed, contending that it was challenging only the regulation and not the SIP, and therefore, the CAA did not apply. The Ninth Circuit affirmed, holding (1) the Truck Association’s suit, as a practical matter, challenged the the EPA’s approval of a provision of California’s SIP; and (2) because the court of appeals has exclusive jurisdiction over such challenges, the district court lacked jurisdiction. View "Cal. Dump Truck Owners Ass’n v. Nichols" on Justia Law

The Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services imposed a civil money penalty on Plott Nursing Home in California for Plott’s violations of the Medicare Act’s standards of care for nursing home patients. The Department’s Appeals Board largely affirmed. Plott petitioned for review. The Ninth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part, holding (1) sufficient evidence supported the Secretary’s determination that Plott violated the quality of care for bed sores; (2) the Secretary’s finding that Plott violated the quality of care for urinary tract infections was not supported by substantial evidence on the record; and (3) Plott was entitled to administrative review of all cited deficiencies. Remanded with directions to review or dismiss the violations that were not reviewed by the agency. View "Plott Nursing Home v. Burwell" on Justia Law

C.W. was eligible for special education services and was in a special day class within the Capistrano Unified School District. K.S. consented to an occupational therapy assessment for C.W. K.S. then requested an independent assessment at public expense based on her disagreement with the occupational therapy report. The District denied the request and then initiated a due process hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ). The ALJ concluded that the District’s assessment was appropriate. K.S. appealed, claiming violations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. 1983, and Rehabilitation Act. The federal district court affirmed the ALJ’s decision and awarded the District attorney’s fees and costs. The Ninth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part, holding (1) the ADA and section 1983 claims were frivolous, and therefore, the district court correctly awarded attorney’s fees and costs for representation relating to those claims; but (2) the IDEA and Rehabilitation Act claims were not frivolous and/or brought for an improper purpose, and therefore, the district court erred in awarding attorney’s fees and costs related to the litigation of those claims. View "C.W. v. Capistrano Unified Sch. Dist." on Justia Law

Petitioners sought asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the United Nations Convention Against Torture (CAT). The lead petitioner asserted that he was detained, beat, and threatened by Armenian military police after he was seen talking to a reporter following a personal confrontation with the city’s military police chief. The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) denied all relief. A panel of the Ninth Circuit granted Petitioners’ petition for review in part as to the asylum and withholding claims, holding (1) the BIA erred by failing to consider whether the lead petitioner was harmed on account of an imputed political opinion or his imputed whistleblowing; and (2) substantial evidence supported the denial of Petitioners’ claims based on actual political opinion, as well as the denial of Petitioners’ claims under the CAT. Remanded. View "Khudaverdyan v. Holder" on Justia Law

Black Mesa sought costs and expenses from the OSM after Black Mesa participated in a successful challenge to OSM's grant of a coal mining permit revision. The ALJ denied the fee request, the IBLA affirmed, and the district court affirmed. The court held that, on the standard of review applicable here, the review of the agency's "eligibility" determination is de novo and its "entitlement" determination is reviewed for substantial evidence; on de novo review, Black Mesa is "eligible" for fees because it showed some degree of success on the merits; in light of the court's decision on "eligibility," the court declined to reach whether, on this record, Black Mesa was "entitled" to fees; and the court remanded for the agency to consider the issue. In addition, the court rejected Black Mesa's argument that the Secretary waived a challenge to the reasonableness of any award amount that the agency might grant on remand for costs and expenses reasonably incurred for Black Mesa's participation in the proceedings at the agency level. Accordingly, the court reversed in part, vacated in part, and remanded. View "Black Mesa Water Coalition v. Jewell" on Justia Law

The City of Spokane filed suit against Fannie, Freddie, and FHFA, arguing that Fannie and Freddie are not statutorily exempt from paying real property transfer taxes. The court concluded that it is clear that the statutory carve-outs allowing for the taxation of real property as "other real property is taxed" encompass only property taxes, not excise taxes. Therefore, Fannie and Freddie are statutorily exempt from paying the transfer taxes in Washington. The court held that the entities' exemption statutes do not exceed Congress's constitutional authority. Because Congress has power under the Commerce Clause to regulate the secondary mortgage market, it has power under the Necessary and Proper Clause not only to create Fannie and Freddie but also to ensure their preservation by exempting them from state and local taxes. Finally, the exemptions neither commandeer state and local officials nor transgress general principles of federalism. Therefore, the court rejected Spokane's Tenth Amendment arguments. Accordingly, the court held that Congress exempted Fannie and Freddie from state and local taxation of real property transfers and that it had constitutional authority to do so. The court affirmed the judgment. View "City of Spokane v. Fed. Nat'l Mortgage Ass'n" on Justia Law

The Department of Interior's Bureau of Reclamation asked the NMFS in 2006 to evaluate the impact of continuing water extraction in the Central Valley on certain threatened and endangered Salmonid species that live there. NMFS developed a Biological Opinion (BiOp) in which it determined that Reclamation's proposed project would jeopardize some of the Delta's endangered Salmonids. NMFS required Reclamation to change the way it pumps water out of the Valley's rivers and groups that depend on Central Valley's water sued to stop this change. The district court found that NMFS violated the Administrative Procedure Act's (APA), 5 U.S.C. 706(2)(A), arbitrary or capricious standard when developing much of the BiOp and defendants appealed. The court held that the district court did not give NMFS the substantial deference it is due under the APA; the court found that the components of the BiOp invalidated by the district court are reasonable and supported by the record; and the court upheld the BiOp in its entirety. Accordingly, the court reversed and remanded the district court's entry of summary judgment in favor of defendants. View "San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority v. Locke" on Justia Law

Conservation Congress filed suit contending that the federal government violated national environmental laws in failing to consult adequately as to the Beaverslide Project's potential effects on the Northern Spotted Owl. The Project is a lumber thinning and fuel reduction project in northern California. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the government. The court concluded that the district court properly held that Conservation Congress provided sufficient notice of intent to sue to confer jurisdiction on the district court to entertain the Endangered Species Act (ESA), 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq., claims; the ESA claims are not moot; the district court properly granted summary judgment to the government on the merits of Conservation Congress's claims under the ESA where the Forest Service did not violate the consultation requirements of 50 C.F.R. 402.16; the district court properly concluded that the agencies did not fail to use "the best scientific and commercial data available," as required by the ESA; and the district court properly granted summary judgment on Conservation Congress's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq., claims under the "hard look" standard. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment. View "Conservation Congress v. Finley" on Justia Law