Opinion ID: 6934831
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Extensions of the Administrator’s Term

Text: The Consent Judgment provided that the Administrator was to “remain in office for no less than four (4) years from the date of [his] appointment by the Court,” and that [u]pon an appropriate showing by the administrator or plaintiff United States of America, with notice to and an opportunity to be heard by the defendants who have consented to entry of this Consent Judgment, the Court may extend the term of the administrator as it sees fit. Consent Judgment ¶ 13. The Judgment placed no upper limitation on the length of the Administrator’s term. The initial four-year term expired on May 3, 1992. Prior to that date, the Administrator moved for an extension of his term on the grounds that his continued presence in the Market was needed to achieve compliance with the injunctive provisions of the Consent Judgment, to finalize methods of preventing future violations, and to complete ongoing investigations of possible additional violations. The Administrator stated that the unloader defendants’ refusals to disclose information had prolonged the investigations. Over objection by the defendants, the court granted the Administrator’s motion, extending his term until May 29, 1992; a subsequent order extended the term until July 1, 1992. Additional extension orders were signed, largely without objection from defendants, on June 30,1992, November 2, 1992, and March 2, 1993, June 30, 1993, and October 26, 1993. The orders dated November 2, 1992, and March 2, 1993, were signed on the day after the expiration of the prior term. The June 30, 1993 order mistakenly “extended” the Administrator’s term “until July 1,1993,” the day on which the then-current extension was scheduled to expire, and the court’s October 26, 1993 order accordingly corrected that error, stating that the term had in fact been extended until October 1,1993. The October 26, 1993 order extended the Administrator’s term from October 1, 1993, until January 1, 1994. The June 30, 1992 order noted that one reason for extending the term was that the Administrator had proposed the imposition of sanctions against the unloader defendants. Subsequent orders noted that the unloader defendants had objected to the proposed sanctions, and that the district court was reviewing the Administrator’s decision. The October 26, 1993 order further stated that if the court affirmed the sanctions, the Administrator should remain in office to assist in their implementation. In addition, the court noted that the Administrator was continuing to investigate possible further violations of the Consent Judgment and had drafted a set of proposed regulations for the Market’s unloading business; both functions would require his continuation in office. Though the court’s October 26, 1993 order extended the Administrator’s term only until January 1, 1994, there was no request for a further extension of that term until mid-February 1994. On February 16, 1994, the government submitted a proposed extension order to the district court and sent a copy via facsimile to the Market defendants’ counsel. On February 17, the court signed an order stating that, pursuant to the provisions of the Consent Judgment and the inherent powers of the court, “the term of the Administrator is extended nunc pro tunc until July 1,1994.” February 17, 1994 Order at 4. The court noted its recent affirmance of the Administrator’s imposition of money sanctions on the unloader defendants for violations of the Consent Judgment and the principle that “ ‘all unloading crews have the right to solicit business from any party bringing fish into the Fulton Fish Market,’ ” February 17,1994 Order at 2 (quoting Sanctions Opinion at 14), and stated that the Administrator should remain in office “to assist in the enforcement of the [district court’s] Sanctions Decision,” February 17, 1994 Order at 2. The court reiterated that an extension was also needed to permit the finalization of regulations for the operation of the Market and to permit the completion of ongoing investigations.