Last week, the D.C. Circuit issued four administrative-law opinions. The first, Advanced Energy United v. FERC, involved the nation’s backlogged interconnection queue—a waiting list of proposed energy-generating facilities seeking to connect to the power grid. Before 2023, a developer seeking to connect a new facility would submit an interconnection request to the transmission provider, which […]
During the week of March 23, the D.C. Circuit decided Center for Biological Diversity v. Zeldin, a case involving the intersection of the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act. Section 404 of the Clean Water Act prohibits the discharge of any pollutant into the waters of the United States without a permit. The […]
Last week, the D.C. Circuit issued two administrative-law opinions. In Affirmed Energy, LLC v. FERC, the court addressed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s approval of changes to regional electricity-market rules. The case involved PJM Interconnection LLC, which manages the electrical grid in parts of thirteen states and the District of Columbia. Each year, PJM holds […]
Although the D.C. Circuit didn’t issue any opinions last week, it denied a motion for an emergency stay in Abramowitz v. Lake—another case testing the scope of the President’s power to remove inferior officers. The case concerns the Director of the Voice of America, which is the U.S. government’s international broadcaster. The Director reports to […]
During the week of June 2, the D.C. Circuit issued two administrative-law opinions and one interesting denial of a motion for an emergency stay. In Secretary of Labor v. Industrial TurnAround Corporation, the court dismissed a petition from the Secretary of Labor for lack of jurisdiction. In August 2022, three miners were injured when a […]
The D.C. Circuit issued only one opinion last week, and it wasn’t about administrative law. (The case involved a civil contempt motion to enforce an injunction that protected free-exercise rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.) The court did hear arguments on several administrative-law cases, including: More opinions to come soon!
The D.C. Circuit issued only one opinion last week: Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen v. National Railroad Passenger Corp. In 2017, the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (“the Union”) filed a complaint in federal district court arguing that Amtrak had violated their collective bargaining agreement by refusing to say that it would use Union-represented workers in a […]
The D.C. Circuit’s internal August 15 deadline for circulating opinions has come and gone, and the pace of opinions has started to slow. The court issued six opinions last week, only four of which involve administrative law. And it was a mixed bag for the agencies, as the court vacated multiple agency actions and regulations. […]
In the first week of July, the D.C. Circuit issued five administrative-law opinions. First, in Evergreen Shipping Agency (America) Corp. v. Federal Maritime Commission, the court vacated an order that involved late fees for borrowed shipping containers. In April 2020, an ocean carrier (Evergreen) gave several loaded shipping containers to a trucking company (TCW) at […]
The D.C. Circuit published one administrative-law opinion last week: Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. v. Johnson. Section 340B of the Public Health Service Act requires drug manufacturers to sell certain drugs to certain healthcare providers at a steep discount. Many of these providers contract with pharmacies to help distribute the discounted drugs to their patients. But those […]
During the week of January 15, the D.C. Circuit issued two opinions. In In re: Search of Information Stored at Twitter, Inc., the D.C. Circuit denied a petition for rehearing en banc filed by Twitter (now known as X). In November 2022, Special Counsel Jack Smith was appointed to investigate President Trump’s efforts to overturn the […]
The D.C. Circuit didn’t release any opinions during the week of October 23–27. Since there weren’t any opinions to recap, I thought I would highlight one of my favorite passages from the Federalist No. 1, which was published 236 years ago on October 27, 1787. In that paper, Alexander Hamilton recognized that the Constitution would […]
Last week, the D.C. Circuit issued two administrative-law opinions and unsealed an opinion regarding the FBI’s investigation into Representative Scott Perry’s cell phone. You can find the unsealed opinion here and summaries of the administrative-law opinions below. In American Society for Testing and Materials v. Public.Resource.Org, Inc., the D.C. Circuit considered how the Copyright Act […]
During the week of June 19, the D.C. Circuit issued three opinions. In Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International v. EPA, the D.C. Circuit vacated part of an EPA rule that regulated hydrofluorocarbons—highly potent greenhouse gases used in fridges, freezers, and air conditioners. In 2020, Congress enacted the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act, which […]