Justia U.S. D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

Atrium at Princeton owned and operated a nursing home. The National Labor Relations Board (Board) held Atrium committed various unfair labor practices in connection with its negotiations for new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with SEIU 1199 New Jersey Health Care Union. The Board concluded Atrium did not bargain in good faith with the Union because the parties were not at an impasse when Atrium refused to bargain any further. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals denied Atrium's petition for review and granted the Board's cross-application for enforcement, holding that Atrium violated sections 8(a)(1) and (5) of the National Labor Relations Act by refusing to meet and to bargain with the Union, refusing to comply with the Union's information requests, and making various unilateral changes to the terms and conditions of employment. View "Atrium of Princeton, LLC v. NLRB" on Justia Law

The Vermont Department of Public Service and the New England Coalition petitioned for review of a decision of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issuing to Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee, LLC and Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc. a renewed license to operate the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station. Petitioners contended the license renewal was unlawful because Entergy failed to furnish a state water quality certification, which they asserted was required under the Clean Water Act. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals denied the petitions for review, concluding that Petitioners failed to exhaust their administrative remedies before the NRC and thereby waived the right to raise their water quality certification objection on judicial review. View "Vt. Dep't of Pub. Servs. v. Nuclear Regulatory Comm'n" on Justia Law

Following the Supreme Court's decision in Massachusetts v. EPA, the EPA promulgated a series of greenhouse gas-related rules: (1) an Endangerment Finding, in which the EPA determined that greenhouse gases may "reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health or welfare"; (2) the Tailpipe Rule, which set emission standards for cars and light trucks; and (3) the Timing and Tailoring Rules, in which the EPA determined that only the largest stationary sources would initially be subject to the requirements for major stationary sources of greenhouse gases to obtain construction and operating permits. Petitioners, various states and industry groups, challenged all these rules. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed for lack of jurisdiction all petitions for review of the Timing and Tailoring Rules and denied the remainder of the petitions, holding (1) the Endangerment Finding and Tailpipe Rule are neither arbitrary nor capricious; (2) EPA's interpretation of the governing Clean Air Act provisions is unambiguously correct; and (3) no Petitioner has standing to challenge the Timing and Tailoring Rules. View "Coalition for Responsible Regulation, Inc. v. EPA" on Justia Law

Edwina Bigesby was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment for various drug-related offenses, including possession with intent to distribute fifty grams or more of crack cocaine. Bigesby appealed, contending her convictions should be vacated because the trial judge erroneously excluded evidence critical to her defense. Alternatively, Bigesby claimed her sentence should be reduced under the Fair Sentencing Act (FSA), which increased the amount of crack cocaine needed to trigger a ten-year mandatory minimum sentence. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected both arguments and affirmed the judgment below, holding (1) the trial judge did not improperly exclude evidence relevant to Bigesby's defense; and (2) Bigesby was not entitled to re-sentencing under the FSA. View "United States v. Bigesby" on Justia Law

RSM Production Corporation brought a complaint against a law firm and two of its partners ("Freshfields"), alleging that Freshfields, through its representation of the nation of Grenada in international arbitration, conspired to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) in an effort to prevent RSM from obtaining an exclusive license for offshore oil and gas exploration and development in Grenada. The district court ruled that RSM's lawsuit was barred under the doctrine of res judicata because of its prior lawsuit in the Southern District of New York regarding the same licensing effort. On appeal, RSM contended that Freshfields was not in privity with the New York defendants and that RSM was not required to add Freshfields as a party to that litigation on pain of res judicata. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed on the alternative ground that RSM's complaint failed to state a claim of RICO conspiracy against Freshfields. View "RSM Prod. Corp. v. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer U.S. LLP" on Justia Law

This case was a part of a long-running and sprawling international litigation battle in which various indigenous Ecuadorian groups claimed that Chevron Corporation was liable for environmental harm caused in the Amazon over three decades. Patton Boggs LLP represented the plaintiffs and wished to continued to do so. The district court denied Patton Boggs both a declaratory judgment that it could not be disqualified from that representation and leave to amend its complaint with claims that Chevron and its counsel tortiously interfered with the firm's contract with its clients. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court, holding that the court did not abuse its discretion (1) by failing to exercise jurisdiction and take up the request for a declaratory judgment; (2) in denying Patton Boggs' request to amend the complaint; and (3) by dismissing Patton Boggs' new complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. View "Patton Boggs, LLP v. Chevron Corp." on Justia Law

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) sought enforcement of an order finding Downtown BID (the Company), a non-profit business improvement corporation, committed an unfair labor practice when it refused to bargain with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (the Union) following an employee election. The Company contended that agents or supporters of the Union unlawfully threatened and harassed employees and otherwise engaged in electioneering that interfered with the fairness and outcome of the election. The NLRB overruled these objections and certified the Union. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals granted the NLRB's application, holding (1) the NLRB's findings and conclusions were supported by substantial evidence and consistent with NLRB precedent; and (2) therefore, the Company's subsequent refusal to bargain was therefore unlawful. View "NLRB v. Downtown Bid Servs. Corp." on Justia Law

In 2008, the EPA issued a rule regulating renovation and remodeling activities that create health hazards arising from lead paint. The rule contained an "opt-out" provision, which exempted owner-occupied housing from the rule's requirements if the homeowner certified that no pregnant women or young children lived there. In 2010, EPA amended the rule to eliminate the opt-out provision. The National Association of Home Builders and other trade associations petitioned for review of the amended rule, arguing (1) the decision to abandon the opt-out provision was arbitrary and capricious, in violation of the APA; and (2) EPA failed to convene a panel of representatives of small businesses before issuing the new rule, in violation of the Regulatory Flexibility Act. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals denied the petition for review, holding (1) EPA's decision was not arbitrary or capricious; and (2) the Court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the petitioners' second challenge. View "Nat'l Ass'n of Home Builders v. EPA " on Justia Law

Assistant United States Attorney Richard Convertino led the prosecution of the Detroit Sleeper Cell defendants in 2003. Convertino was later removed from the case for alleged violations committed during the prosecution. The Department of Justice's (DOJ) Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) began an internal investigation into whether Convertino knowingly withheld evidence from the defense. A few months later, a reporter published an article in the Detroit Free Press including details of the OPR referral. Convertino brought suit, alleging that an unidentified DOJ employee willfully or intentionally disclosed confidential information protected by the Privacy Act to the reporter. After several years, Convertino moved for a motion to stay the proceedings on the ground he was pursuing discovery to learn the source's identity. The district court granted summary judgment to DOJ and denied Convertino's motion to stay. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the district court's summary judgment, holding that the district court committed an abuse of discretion in denying Convertino's motion to stay, as (1) the district court mistakenly assumed Convertino could maintain discovery proceedings even after the Privacy Act litigation ended; and (2) Convertino submitted ample evidence to suggest that additional discovery could reveal the source's identity. Remanded. View "Convertino v. Dep't of Justice" on Justia Law

106 Ltd. (Partnership), a limited partnership, appearing through its tax matters partner David Palmlund, appealed a decision of the United States Tax Court upholding the imposition of a forty per cent accuracy-related penalty by the IRS. The IRS determined that the Partnership had utilized a so-called "Son of BOSS" tax shelter to overstate its basis in Partnership interests by approximately $3 million and to thereby reduce Palmlund's individual federal income tax liability by nearly $400,000. The sole issue before the D.C. Circuit was whether the Tax Court erred in determining that the Partnership failed to establish a reasonable cause defense to the accuracy-related penalty pursuant to 26 U.S.C. 6664(c)(1). The D.C. Circuit affirmed, holding that the Tax Court did not err in concluding that the Partnership failed to establish the reasonable cause defense to the forty per cent accuracy-related penalty. View "106 Ltd. v. Comm'r of IRS" on Justia Law