DC Court of Appeals issues order
Tuesday, December 6, 2022
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia filed an order on December 5, 2022 denying the Celebration’s motion to intervene and petition for rehearing en banc. The Court of Appeals also formally denied the federal government’s motion for panel rehearing. The government’s motion for rehearing was much more limited than the Celebration’s motion, yet both were denied.
However, the court effectively grants the federal government the relief it sought by making it clear that, on remand, the district court may consider all remedial issues, including the question of whether remand to the agency without vacatur is appropriate. This terminology means that it is possible the district court could send the rule back to USDA but not require USDA to issue the rule, or as stated by the order, vacate (reverse) the withdrawal of the 2017 rule.
An opinion in the decision by Judge Tatel points out specifically that not vacating (reversing) the withdrawal of the 2017 rule make sense given that USDA is in the late stages of developing a rule addressing the same topic as the 2017 rule.
The reasons given by Judge Tatel and Judge Millet for denying The Celebration’s motion to intervene was that it was not timely. Judge Rao disagreed and based on case law referenced by The Celebration’s motion, she agreed that in fact the motion was timely given the new developments in the case.
The 2016/2017 rule was not published in the federal register when President Trump was inaugurated and with his executive order to stop all pending rules that had not been published, the rule was not published, final or enacted. In 2021 the USDA formally withdrew the rule, citing new developments such as the National Academies of Science study and promised to expeditiously file a new rule addressing the amendments to the Horse Protection Act and its enforcement.
The Humane Society of the United States sued the USDA stating the rule should have been enacted because it had previously met all the requirements to make a final rule and the last step of publishing in federal register was not a necessary final step. The USDA disagreed and won at the district court level with the judge agreeing the rule had not met the longstanding requirements of the Administrative Procedures Act that it be published in order to be final.
HSUS appealed the decision and the DC Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the lower court’s decision in a split decision of the three-judge panel, which remanded the case back to the lower court. At this point, The Celebration filed a motion to intervene and the Department of Justice filed a motion for panel rehearing seeking only review of the remedy. The Celebration also filed a petition for rehearing en banc at that time. The Court of Appeals has now ruled on all three of those actions denying them all.
The industry will evaluate all the potential options that exists once the case is sent back to the district court.
More Stories |
-
The Walking Horse Report web site (www.walkinghorsereport.com) continued its strong growth and presence in 2022. For the year, Walking Horse Report had 822,338 site visits, up almost 50,000 visits from 2021, a 6% increase. The page views were in line with the year previous with just under 3.75 million page views in 2022.
Read More
-
The Walking Horse Owners Association is pleased to announce that Darden Gladney of Homer, Louisiana will be the judge at the WHOA Southern Belle Triple Crown Horse Show. The event is scheduled for March 30–April 1, 2023, in Pensacola, Florida...
Read More
-
Read More
-
Sugar Creek is wrapping up their Online January Mixed Sale beginning at noon today Friday, February 3. Close to 80 head of broodmares and young horses are being offered with auction closings everyday through February 11th...
Read More
-
When Sarah Coffee Burks learned she was named the Year in Walking Horses Owner of the Year she was overwhelmed and cried tears of joy. Her reaction reflected the very beginning of her love of horses and her commitment to the Tennessee Walking Horse.
Read More
-
The Report has learned of the passing of Merle Stuart. Mr. Stuart was a long-time supporter of the Tennessee walking horse and father of Leigh Stuart, Lynn Marchetti and Jim Stuart and the husband of Shirley Stuart.
Read More
-
The Walking Horse Owners Association would like to remind you that tomorrow, Wednesday, February 1, is the deadline for making reservations for the WHOA High Points Awards. All WHOA members are invited to attend the annual membership meeting and Banquet.
Read More
-
Congratulations to the following individuals whom were reelected to the North Carolina Walking Horse Association Board of Directors...
Read More
-
The March 1st deadline to pay WHTA Auxiliary dues to be eligible to show in WHTA Auxiliary classes is quickly approaching. Dues are $30 per year, unless you are a past president...
Read More
-
FAST is happy to announce that Derek Bonner, Wayne Dean and Jamie Lawrence will judge the FAST Spring Showcase on April 14-15, 2023. The show will be held in the Cooper Steel Arena (formerly Calsonic Arena) on the Celebration Grounds in Shelbyville, Tennessee.
Read More
|