Topic
Every decision we've filed under Administrative / Agency Review.
The First Circuit affirmed a permanent injunction barring the National Institutes of Health from imposing a uniform 15% cap on indirect cost reimbursements for federally funded research. The court held that the agency's action violated a congressional appropriations rider and contravened HHS regulations governing negotiated cost rates.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court judgment quieting title to riverbeds, holding that only the Sun River to Black Eagle Falls Segment was navigable in fact at the time of Montana's statehood. The court rejected the State's argument that actual river use alone establishes navigability and confirmed that the segment-by-segment analysis required by PPL Montana was correctly applied to all disputed reaches.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the criminal conviction of a chief engineer for maintaining an inaccurate Oil Record Book while a foreign-flagged vessel was in U.S. waters. The court held that the regulation's plain language requires the record to be substantively accurate, not merely physically preserved.
The D.C. Circuit denied Entergy's petitions for review of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's approval of revised capacity market rules for the Midcontinent Independent System Operator. The court held that FERC provided a reasoned explanation for its decisions, satisfying the arbitrary and capricious standard of review.
The D.C. Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a visa applicant's claim that a consular officer failed to make a final decision on her application. The court held that federal regulations do not impose a clear legal duty prohibiting officers from placing refused applications in administrative processing.
The D.C. Circuit dismissed a petition for a writ of mandamus, holding that the All Writs Act does not grant jurisdiction to intervene in a closed case where the appellate court lacks authority to review the underlying state court decisions. The court further affirmed the district court's denial of leave to file new documents, ruling that the lower court did not abuse its discretion in managing its docket.
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit affirmed a district court dismissal of a complaint for failing to meet pleading standards. The court held that the appellant failed to provide a short and plain statement of the claim required under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure eight comma a.
The D.C. Circuit denied petitions challenging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's certification of the Evangeline Pass Expansion Project, ruling that the agency reasonably applied the National Environmental Policy Act. The court also upheld FERC's decision to deny windfall profit credits to existing pipeline customers who would not use the new capacity.