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

Plaintiff, an African-American woman, sued the District and the Chief of Police, alleging race and sex discrimination. When plaintiff opted to retire instead of accepting a demotion, the Chief hired a white man to serve in her position at one rank higher than the rank the Chief had offered plaintiff. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of defendants. The court reversed and remanded, concluding that plaintiff produced sufficient evidence of race and sex discrimination to get to a jury and that the district court failed to state its reasons for keeping certain records designated "confidential" sealed. View "Primas v. District of Columbia, et al." on Justia Law

This case stemmed from appellant's request from the CIA of records related to a certain CIA officer. On appeal, appellant challenged the district court's determination that appellant should not receive attorney's fees as a result of his suit filed under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552 et seq. The court vacated and remanded to the district court so that it could apply the four-factor standard, which this circuit had set forth for considering a substantially prevailing party's entitlement to attorney's fees in FOIA cases, in a manner consistent with Davy v. CIA because the district court did not consider the Davy Court's analysis of the public-benefit factor. View "Morley v. CIA" on Justia Law

Appellants, hunters and hunting organizations, challenged the Service's bar against the importation of polar bear trophies under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq., and the Endangered Species Act (ESA), 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq. In regard to statutory challenges, the court concluded that Congress intended to extend the protections of sections 101(a)(3)(B) and 102(b)(3) of the MMPA to all depleted species, regardless of their depleted status; although section 104(c)(5) did authorize trophy importation, that provision remained subject to the MMPA's more stringent protections for depleted species; section 102(b)(3) referred not only to mammals taken from species the Secretary had designated as depleted but instead mammals taken from species the Secretary has so designated; and section 101(a)(3)(B) could not permit what section 102(b)(3) expressly prohibited. In regards to procedural challenges, the court concluded that section 115(a) was inapplicable because an ESA listing resulted in a depleted designation under the MMPA but entailed no "determination" to that effect. Finally, the Listing Rule provided adequate notice. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment. View "In re: Polar Bear Endangered Species Act Listing" on Justia Law

Delta filed suit against the Bank, under the Export-Import Bank Act, 12 U.S.C. 635(b)(1)(B), arguing that the Bank failed to consider the effects of loan guarantees given to Air India so that Air India could purchase Boeing airplanes. The district court entered judgment in favor of the Bank and Delta appealed. The court reversed, concluding that the Bank failed to reasonably explain its application of the Act in this case, as required by the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 500 et seq. The court directed the district court to remand the case to the Bank for further proceedings, but the district court should not vacate any of the Bank's actions in this matter to date. View "Delta Air Lines, Inc. v. Export-Import Bank of the U.S., et al." on Justia Law

Appellant appealed the district court's denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The district court concluded that appellant was part of al Qaeda or the Taliban at the time of his capture, based on evidence of what he did and with whom he stayed in Pakistan and Afghanistan as well as his efforts to explain away that evidence, which the district court found implausible. The court affirmed the judgment, concluding that the district court's findings of fact were not clearly erroneous, and those facts supported the conclusion that appellant was more likely than not a part of enemy forces at the time of his capture. View "Hussain v. Obama, et al" on Justia Law

NRG petitioned for review of FERC's order approving a settlement between PJM, NYISO, ConEd, PSE&G, and others regarding transmission service agreements. NRG objected to the settlement, which gave ConEd transmission rights not available to other market participants. The court concluded that FERC did not act arbitrarily or capriciously in approving an agreement that did not conform to PJM's open-access transmission tariff and that FERC's justifications for approving the agreement were reasonable and supported by substantial evidence. Accordingly, the court denied the petition for review. View "NRG Power Marketing, LLC, et al. v. FERC" on Justia Law

Catholic Health filed suit under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), 5 U.S.C. 500 et seq., challenging the agency's interpretation of the Medicare statute and its application to the 1997 cost-reporting period. The district court held that the Secretary's decision was unlawful because the agency, in calculating reimbursements owed for a 1997 cost-reporting period, had retroactively applied a 2004 rulemaking without congressional authorization. The court concluded that the policy on which the agency relied was first announced in an adjudication in 2000, not in the 2004 rulemaking; the agency's interpretation of the statute was permissible; the denial of reimbursements was not arbitrary and capricious; and Catholic Health had not shown that it relied to its detriment on the position the agency allegedly held before 2000. Accordingly, the court reversed the judgment of the district court. View "Catholic Health Initiatives Iowa Corp. v. Sebelius" on Justia Law

Appellee, a Somali national, helped negotiate the ransom of a merchant vessel and its crew after they were captured by marauders in the Gulf of Aden. Appellee received a share of the ransom and also received a separate payment for his negotiation services. After appellee was appointed Director General of the Ministry of Education for the Republic of Somaliland, he was invited to attend an education conference in the United States. When appellee landed in the United States, he was promptly arrested. Appellee was indicted for conspiracy to commit piracy under the law of nations (Count One); committing piracy under the law of nations (Count Two); and conspiracy to commit hostage taking and aiding and abetting hostage taking (Counts Three and Four). On appeal, the government challenged the district court's dismissal of Counts One, Three, and Four, as well as limitation of Count Two. The court affirmed the district court's dismissal of Count One; reversed the district court's narrowing of the scope of Count Two to acts appellee performed while on the high seas; and reversed the dismissal of Counts Three and Four. View "United States v. Ali" on Justia Law

This case concerned the rates that the Postal Service charged for presorted mail. The Commission found that the Postal Service's discount for presorting exceeded the cost that the Postal Service avoided as a result of presorting. The Commission determined that the Postal Service must revise its discount for presorting. The court concluded that the discount the Postal Service offered for presorting was a rate discount provided to mailers for presorting under 39 U.S.C. 3622(e)(1). Therefore, it was clear that the amount of the discount that the Postal Service could offer for presorting was subject to the statute's workshare discount limit, and the discount could not exceed the cost that the Postal Service avoided as a result of the presorting. The court considered the Postal Service's remaining arguments and denied the petition for review. View "USPS v. PRC" on Justia Law

Plaintiff sued his employer, the USPS, for racial discrimination, retaliation, and hostile work environment. On appeal, plaintiff challenged the district court's order refusing to award him any compensation for delayed payment of attorney's fees after his successful suit. The court vacated and remanded, concluding that the district court had discretion to compensate for delay, but it applied the wrong legal standard in exercising its discretion. On remand, the district court must determine, under the correct legal standards, whether compensation for delay was appropriate and, if so, by what means. View "West v. Potter" on Justia Law