Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2012/10/16/2012-25400/rules-of-practice-in-air-safety-proceedings-rules-implementing-the-equal-access-to-justice-act-of
Timestamp: 2018-07-16 23:11:47
Document Index: 223910056

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63245-63253 (9 pages)
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2012-25400 https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2012-25400
Both the ANPRM and NPRM included a discussion of the Board's procedure for handling certain aspects of emergency cases. The FAA issues emergency orders when it determines the interests of aviation safety require that the order take effect immediately, and, in those cases, the certificate holder may not exercise certificate privileges during the pendency of an appeal with the NTSB. Section 716 of the Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century (“AIR-21”) amended 49 U.S.C. 44709 by granting the NTSB authority to review such emergency determinations. Public Law 106-181, section 716 (April 5, 2000) (codified at 49 U.S.C. 44709(e)(3)). The NTSB's rules governing review of the emergency status of a case have been the subject of debate in the aviation legal community in the recent past. Specifically, § 821.54(e) directs NTSB's law judges to dispose of petitions for review of the FAA's emergency determinations by:
The NTSB received nine comments in response to the NPRM, which are available at http://www.regulations.gov (Docket No. NTSB-GC-2011-0001). The NTSB carefully considered all comments received in response to the NPRM, as well as the preceding ANPRM.[1] This section contains summaries of the NRPM comments. The NTSB's responses to the comments are included in the section below entitled “Changes.”
Regarding respondents' challenges to the emergency status of a case under section 821.54, the FAA contends the NTSB should not have used a drug testing refusal case as an example of a case where the law judge granted a respondent's petition regarding the emergency status of the case. The FAA's comment asserts the NTSB gave the impression that a respondent's opportunity to submit evidence was equivalent to a trial on the merits. The comment suggests adding the following sentence at the end of § 821.54(b): “The respondent may include attachments to the petition for review (e.g., affidavits, other records) limited to evidence the respondent believes supports the reasons enumerated in the petition for why the Administrator's emergency determination is not warranted in the interest of aviation safety.”
NATA asserts the requirement to defer to the FAA's interpretation of the Federal Aviation Regulations (as required by 49 U.S.C. 44709(d)(3)),[2] combined with the “assuming the truth” standard, results in too much deference to the FAA. NATA also believes the law judges would not grant a challenge to the FAA's emergency action even when the respondent presents evidence indicating the factual allegations are not true, as a result of the deferential standard of review.
The Transport Workers Union of America (TWU) commented concerning the standard of review of the emergency status of cases. TWU acknowledges the need for some deference to the FAA's factual allegations, given the fact that a challenge concerning the emergency status is limited in scope and cannot consist of litigating the merits of the case. As with its response to the ANPRM, TWU again suggests adoption of a less deferential standard of review than the current “assuming the truth” standard. TWU analogizes its proposed review of FAA emergency cases to Federal courts' review of temporary restraining orders or preliminary injunctionsto require the FAA to show a substantial likelihood of success on the merits.[3] TWU notes other Federal agencies apply this “substantial likelihood of success” standard when determining whether to grant a stay of a case.[4]
The Aviation Law Firm submitted a comment discussing the proposed changes regarding emergency cases. The commenter recommends the NTSB change the permissive language of “should permit evidence, if appropriate” within § 821.54(e) to say “shall permit evidence.” The Aviation Law Firm contends such a change would provide sufficient clarity that law judges will consider evidence a petitioner submits.
In order to implement these statutory provisions, on July 11, 2000, the NTSB published an interim rule with a request for comments. 65 FR 42637. This interim rule amended 49 CFR part 821 by providing NTSB's law judges with the authority to issue orders affirming or denying the FAA's emergency determination under 49 U.S.C. 44709(e). The interim rule directed NTSB law judges to determine whether the Administrator abused his or her discretion in finding an emergency existed under the facts alleged in the Administrator's order. The NTSB assumed the facts to be true for the limited purpose of reviewing the emergency determination. The NTSB incorporated the abuse of discretion standard of review that had been set forth in Nevada Airlines v. Bond, 622 F.2d 1017 (9th Cir. 1980).[5] Courts have since upheld the “arbitrary and capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law” standard in other cases. See Ickes v. FAA, 299 F.3d 260 (3d Cir. 2002) (citing Blackman v. Busey, 938 F.2d 659, 663 (6th Cir. 1991)); Armstrong v. FAA, 515 F.3d 1294 (D.C. Cir. 2008).
On April 29, 2003, the NTSB published the final rule altering the standard of review for emergency determinations. 58 FR 22623. Since 2003, § 821.54(e) has provided:
In the 2010 ANPRM, the NTSB revisited this standard of review, requesting comments. 75 FR 80452-01 (Dec. 22, 2010). In the ANPRM, the NTSB reminded parties § 821.54(e) does not explicitly state the allegations of the FAA's complaint are “deemed true,” but instead uses the word “assum[ed].” The NTSB modeled this language after subsection (b) of the Board's Stale Complaint Rule, codified at 49 CFR 821.33.
Moreover, the NTSB only has four administrative law judges, all of whom are responsible for holding hearings across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Consistent with § 821.37(a), the NTSB holds hearings at the most convenient locations for the parties. The NTSB generally refrains from conducting telephonic hearings at which the NTSB's law judges must make factual determinations, because the law judges' ability to assess the credibility of witnesses at such hearings is greatly diminished.
For the reasons set forth above, the NTSB retains the “assuming the truth” standard of review in § 821.54(e). However, the NTSB will also consider this analysis anew in light of any petition for rulemaking, that includes novel suggestions or points not previously articulated.
Finally, the NTSB adopts the suggestion from the Aviation Law Firm, recommending a change in the language of § 821.54(e) to state the law judge “shall” consider evidence a respondent submits in challenging the FAA's decision to proceed with a case as an emergency. The NTSB also adds the phrase “if appropriate” to the sentence, to ensure parties are aware the law judge ultimately makes the determination as to whether the evidence the respondent submits is relevant to the emergency determination. Therefore, this portion of § 821.54(e) will now read, “* * * the law judge is not so limited to the order's factual allegations themselves, but also shall permit evidence, if appropriate, pertaining to the propriety of the emergency determination * * *.”
The Aviation Law Firm suggests an allowance for electronic submission of documents in emergency cases. Therefore, it proposes an amendment to § 821.54(b), to provide a respondent challenging the emergency status of an emergency order to file his or her petition via electronic mail.
The FAA also agrees with the proposal to allow for electronic submission of documents, and offered several suggestions. With regard to § 821.7, the FAA suggests adding the following sentence to subsections (a)(1) and (a)(2) of the regulation, to simplify it: “Paragraph (3) provides the acceptable methods for filing documents under this provision.” As for subsection (a)(3), the FAA suggests the NTSB not adopt the proposed rule stating, “Documents filed by electronic mail must be signed and transmitted in a commonly accepted format, such as Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF),” and instead adopt the following language: “Documents filed by electronic mail must be signed and transmitted in accordance with the procedures established by the Board for accepting electronically filed documents, which can be found at [reference Web site where procedures can be found].” The FAA suggests this amendment to provide the NTSB with flexibility in the future to alter the procedures as technology changes. The FAA's comment states that if the NTSB adopts this approach, the language in § 821.52 could be changed to clarify whether parties may submit documents in emergency cases via electronic mail.
With regard to the proposed change to § 821.8(b), which would require a party serve any other party by any method prescribed in § 821.7(a)(3), and allow a party the option of receiving service via electronic mail only, the FAA recommends clarifying this section by stating whether parties must also serve a hard copy of the document. The FAA states the reference to § 821.7(a)(3) creates this ambiguity. In response, the FAA recommends explicitly requiring, “as a general matter,” that any party serving a document by electronic mail or facsimile also serve a hard copy, to ensure the other party receives the document.
As stated above, all commenters approve of the concept of permitting electronic filing in emergency cases. Given the time constraints applicable to emergency cases, the NTSB has determined adopting such a requirement would be advantageous to all parties. For this reason, the NTSB herein adopts the requirement for emergency cases as well as cases that proceed on the normal case disposition timeline. This change involves deleting references to expedited filing in § s 821.54(b) and (c), and 821.57(b). Additionally, the change requires adding a new subsection within § 821.52 to clarify electronic submission of documents is permissible in emergency cases.
Finally, the NTSB intends to provide in its online electronic filing procedures additional clarifications concerning § 821.8(d)(3), in which the following language was proposed: “[We will presume lawful service] when a document is transmitted by facsimile or electronic mail and there is evidence to confirm its successful transmission to the intended recipient.” By this change, the NTSB encourages parties filing via electronic mail to keep a copy of the transmission from their “sent mail” file. With an electronic docketing system, the NTSB may have the ability in the future to provide a fill-able electronic Web page that automatically generates an electronic “receipt” for documents.
Several commenters address the proposed change to § 821.12(b), which addressed the FAA's voluntary withdrawal of a complaint. The proposed language stated: “The law judge may accept arguments from the parties on the issue of whether a dismissal resulting from the withdrawal of a complaint should be deemed to occur with or without prejudice.” As explained in the preamble of the NPRM, the issue of dismissal with or without prejudice is directly relevant to whether a party has achieved “prevailing party” status under the EAJA.
Some commenters, such as NATA and NBAA, indicate they have “no objection” to the proposed change in § 821.12(b). The Aviation Law Firm suggests changing the word “may” to “shall,” to require law judges to accept arguments on the issue of dismissal with or without prejudice. The comment from the Aviation Law Firm includes a summary of recent cases concerning the EAJA. In particular, in the case of Green Aviation Management Co., LLC v. Federal Aviation Administration, 676 F.3d 200 (DC Cir. 2012), the DC Circuit indicated the with-or-without-prejudice prong of the three-prong test articulated in District of Columbia v. Straus, 590 F.3d 898 (DC Cir. 2010), is indeed an important consideration. In Green, the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals held the applicant was the prevailing party because the law judge dismissed the complaint with prejudice. Green, 676 F.3d at 204-205. Because this prong is such an important consideration, the Aviation Law Firm suggests the NTSB rules state law judges “shall” consider arguments concerning whether they should dismiss a case with prejudice when the FAA withdraws the complaint.
The FAA's comment states the proposed addition to § 821.12(b) lacks clarity, because the rule also states the law judge's approval is not necessary “in the case of a petition for review, an appeal to the Board, a complaint, or an appeal from the law judge's initial decision or appealable order.” Therefore, the FAA indicates the proposed change implies approval from a law judge is necessary to allow the FAA to withdraw a complaint. The FAA's comment suggests if this implication is correct, then the NTSB should specify “such withdrawal must be by motion of the party.” The FAA suggests the following concerning such a motion: (1) The motion state why the moving party is requesting withdrawal; (2) the motion state whether the moving party is requesting dismissal with prejudice; and (3) the motion state whether the non-moving party consents to the motion. The FAA also suggests stating that the law judges will summarily grant uncontested motions to withdraw without prejudice.
The FAA also suggests a change to part 826. The comment recommends changing the formula in § 826.6(b)(1) to the following: X/$125 per hour = CPI_NEW/CPI_1996. The FAA states the formula in the current rule is outdated and results in a higher cap on fees.
AOPA agrees with the proposed change to § 821.12(b). AOPA's comment, however, addresses a different aspect of the EAJA: the time for which an EAJA applicant may recover fees. With an extensive amount of research cited in its comment, AOPA contends the NTSB should allow an applicant to petition for fees and expenses incurred prior to the commencement of the applicant's appeal. AOPA states applicants and their representatives often expend time and resources in preparation for a defense prior to filing an appeal.
The majority of the comments regarding the EAJA focused on § 821.12(b), involving dismissal of the complaint with or without prejudice. As stated in the NPRM, this issue is a critical consideration in determining whether a party is the “prevailing party” for purposes of the EAJA. The NTSB understands the comment from the Aviation Law Firm, wherein it suggests inclusion of the word “shall,” to require the law judges to consider parties' arguments concerning whether to dismiss a case with prejudice. The NTSB initially chose to include the word “may” in the proposed language to acknowledge parties were not required to make such arguments. If parties are silent on the issue, then the law judges would not consider such arguments. The NTSB does not want to penalize parties who do not present any arguments on the issue of whether the law judge should dismiss with prejudice. As a result, the NTSB amends the proposed language to include the word “shall,” in conjunction with the phrase, “if offered.”
The FAA's comment on the issue of dismissal with prejudice was helpful. The NTSB believes the clearest way to address the issue of dismissal with prejudice is to require a motion to dismiss in light of the FAA's withdrawal of a complaint. As a result, the NTSB changes the language in § 821.12(b) to require dismissals based on withdrawals of complaints to occur only on oral or written motion.
The majority of the comments concur with the miscellaneous technical changes. The FAA provided several suggested changes to the proposed language in this category. Concerning § 821.8(d) (entitled “service of documents”), the NTSB proposed to add a new subsection (3), to presume lawful service “[w]hen a document is transmitted by facsimile or electronic mail and there is evidence to confirm its successful transmission to the intended recipient.”
With regard to § 821.64(b) (entitled “judicial review”), the NTSB proposed adding the following language: “[n]o request for a stay pending judicial review will be entertained unless it is served on the Board within 20 days after the date of service of the Board's order. The Administrator may, within 2 days after the date of service of such a motion, file a reply thereto.” The FAA's comment notes the NTSB based this change on the incorrect presumption that only a respondent would seek a stay. The FAA contends there may be times when the FAA needs to file a motion for a stay, and therefore recommends adopting party-neutral language in the rule (such as “moving party” and “non-moving party”). The FAA also believes it is unreasonable to allow the non-moving party only 2 days to file a reply to the motion for stay, when the moving party has 20 days. In this regard, the FAA suggests permitting the moving party 10 days from the date of service of the Board's order to file a motion for stay, and allow the non-moving party 10 days to submit a reply to the motion.
3. In § 821.7, revise paragraphs (a), (e), and (f) to read as follows:
4. In § 821.8, revise paragraphs (a), (b)(1), (c), (d), and (e) to read as follows:
(2) Service shall be made on the person designated in accordance with § 821.7(f) to receive service. If no such person has been designated, service shall be made directly on the party. (b) Method of Service. (1) Service of documents by any party on any other party shall be accomplished by any method prescribed in § 821.7(a)(3) for the filing of documents with the Board. A party may waive the applicability of this paragraph, and elect to be served with documents by the other parties to the proceeding solely by electronic mail, by filing a written document with the Board (with copies to the other parties) expressly stating such a preference.
(c) Where service shall be made. Except for electronic mail, personal service, parties shall be served at the address appearing in the official record, which the Board must receive under §§ 821.6(d) and 821.7(f). In the case of an agent designated by an air carrier under 49 U.S.C. 46103, service may be accomplished only at the agent's office or usual place of residence.
5. In § 821.12, revise paragraph (b) to read as follows:
8. In § 821.52, add paragraph (e) to read as follows:
(e) Acceptable methods of filing and service. All documents submitted by a party in a proceeding governed by this subpart must be filed with the Board by overnight delivery, facsimile or electronic mail, and simultaneously served on all other parties by the same means. If filing by electronic mail, parties must adhere to the requirements in § 821.7(a)(3).
9. In § 821.54, paragraphs (b), (c), and (e) to read as follows:
10. In § 821.55, revise paragraph (a) to read as follows:
11. In § 821.57, revise paragraphs (b) and (c) to read as follows:
(b) Briefs and oral argument. Each appeal in proceedings governed by this subpart must be perfected, within 5 days after the date on which the notice of appeal was filed, by the filing, and simultaneous service on the other parties, of a brief in support of the appeal. Any other party to the proceeding may file a brief in reply to the appeal brief within 7 days after the date on which the appeal brief was served on that party. A copy of the reply brief shall simultaneously be served on the appealing party and any other parties to the proceeding. Aside from the time limits specifically mandated by this paragraph, the provisions of §§ 821.7(a)(3) and 821.48 shall apply.
12. In § 821.64, revise paragraph (b) to read as follows:
14. Revise § 826.1 to read as follows:
15. Revise § 826.40 to read as follows:
5. In Nevada Airlines, the Ninth Circuit stated as follows concerning review of the emergency status of cases: “[w]ithout an administrative record or agency hearing at this stage of the proceedings and in light of the Administrator's broad discretion, we limit our review to determining whether the Administrator's finding of an emergency was arbitrary and capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law.” Id. at 1020.