Opinion ID: 815698
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Petitioners’ Burden of Production

Text: Before seeking review in this court, Petitioners were under no obligation to establish Article III standing. See Pfizer Inc. v. Shalala, 182 F.3d 975, 980 (D.C. Cir. 1999) (“An administrative agency, which is not subject to Article III of the Constitution of the United States and related prudential limitations, may issue a declaratory order in mere anticipation of a controversy or simply to resolve an uncertainty.”). However, when a federal court of appeals reviews an agency action, Article III standing must be demonstrated “as it would be if such review were conducted in the first instance by the district court.” Sierra Club, 292 F.3d at 899. A “petitioner’s burden of production in the court of appeals is accordingly the same as that of a plaintiff moving for summary judgment in the district court: it must support each element of its claim to standing ‘by affidavit or other evidence.’” Id. (quoting Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. at 561). “Its burden of proof is to show a ‘substantial probability’ that it has been injured, that the defendant caused its injury, and that the court could redress that injury.” Id. (quoting Am. Petroleum Inst. v. EPA, 216 F.3d 50, 63 (D.C. 10 Cir. 2000)). “In assessing [Petitioners’] standing, we must assume they will prevail on the merits of their claims.” NB ex rel. Peacock v. District of Columbia, 682 F.3d 77, 82 (D.C. Cir. 2012). If the parties reasonably, but mistakenly, believed that the initial filings before the court had sufficiently demonstrated standing, the court may – as it did here, see Order, Oct. 16, 2012 – request supplemental affidavits and briefing to determine whether the parties have met the requirements for standing. See, e.g., Pub. Citizen, Inc. v. Nat’l Highway Traffic Safety Admin., 489 F.3d 1279, 1296-97 (D.C. Cir. 2007) (noting that it was “prudent” for the court to seek supplemental submissions where there was a question about standing); Am. Library Ass’n, 401 F.3d at 492, 496. Petitioners submitted supplemental filings on October 25, 2012, offering factual information in support of Krawitz’s standing. See generally Supp. Krawitz Aff; Pet’rs’ Supp. Br. The Government was afforded an opportunity to respond to Petitioners’ supplemental filing and did so on November 1, 2012. The dissenting opinion argues that we should decline to consider Petitioners’ supplemental filings because they allegedly rest on a new theory of standing and, thus, violate the commands of Circuit Rule 28(a)(7) and, relatedly, Sierra Club and its progeny. We disagree. Circuit Rule 28(a)(7) states: In cases involving direct review in this court of administrative actions, the brief of the appellant or petitioner must set forth the basis for the claim of standing. . . . When the appellant’s or petitioner's standing is not apparent from the administrative record, 11 the brief must include arguments and evidence establishing the claim of standing. D.C. CIR. R. 28(a)(7). In this case, Petitioners obviously made a serious effort to satisfy the requirements of the rule by setting forth their evidence and arguments in support of standing in their opening brief to the court. See Pet’rs’ Br. at 5-7. In addition, Circuit Rule 28(a)(7) does not itself impose any jurisdictional requirements. So even assuming, arguendo, that Petitioners failed to adhere to the briefing requirements of the rule – which has not been shown in this case – this would not compel sua sponte dismissal by the court. Because the briefing requirements of Circuit Rule 28(a)(7) are not jurisdictional, they have no relevance here unless the Government raised a viable objection pursuant to the rule. The Government raised no such objection to Petitioners’ opening brief to the court. Likewise, in its response to Petitioners’ supplemental filings, the Government did not contend that Petitioners had infringed Circuit Rule 28(a)(7) or Sierra Club and its progeny. Rather, the Government merely noted that Petitioners’ supplemental filings stated, “for the first time, that [Krawitz] participates in the ‘Oregon Medical Marijuana Program.’” Supp. Br. for Resp’t at 1. The Government did not “protest that Krawitz raised a new standing theory,” as the dissenting opinion argues. Nor did the Government claim that Petitioners’ supplemental submissions on standing should not be addressed by the court because they failed to satisfy the requirements of Circuit Rule 28(a)(7) or the controlling law of the circuit. Indeed, the Government did not even suggest that it was disadvantaged in the adversarial process because of the nature of Petitioners’ supplemental filings. See Sierra Club, 292 F.3d at 901. The Government’s arguments in response to Petitioners’ supplemental filings focused on its claim that 12 Petitioners had failed to demonstrate Krawitz’s Article III standing. Although Petitioners made a reasonable effort to satisfy the command of Circuit Rule 28(a)(7) in their opening brief by advancing evidence and arguments in support of standing, the court still had questions regarding whether the facts asserted by Petitioners were sufficient to satisfy the requirements of Article III standing. Therefore, the panel majority, adhering to well-established circuit law, requested supplemental briefing after oral arguments. Nothing in the text of the rule bars the court from requesting such filings. As Judge Kavanaugh noted in Public Citizen, Inc. v. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: This Court “retains the discretion to seek supplemental submissions from the parties if it decides that more information is necessary to determine whether petitioners, in fact, have standing.” Am. Library Ass’n v. FCC, 401 F.3d 489, 494 (D.C. Cir. 2005); see, e.g., Am. Chemistry Council v. Dep’t of Transp., 468 F.3d 810, 815 (D.C. Cir. 2006) (“[W]e raised the issue of standing at oral argument and requested supplemental briefing.”); Action on Smoking & Health v. Dep’t of Labor, 100 F.3d 991, 992 (D.C. Cir. 1996) (petitioner “furnished post-argument affidavits at our request”); see also Abigail Alliance for Better Access to Developmental Drugs v. Von Eschenbach, 469 F.3d 129, 132 (D.C. Cir. 2006) (supplemental briefing sought where agency first challenged standing after panel opinion issued). 489 F.3d at 1296. The point here is simple: under the law of this circuit, the members of a panel retain discretion to seek supplemental 13 submissions on standing to fulfill the obligation of the court to determine whether the requirements of Article III have been met. Circuit Rule 28(a)(7) does not preclude this, nor does the law of the circuit. The reason is clear. Circuit Rule 28(a)(7) says only that “[w]hen the appellant’s or petitioner’s standing is not apparent from the administrative record, the brief must include arguments and evidence establishing the claim of standing.” D.C. CIR. R. 28(a)(7). This language is hardly free from ambiguity because what may be “apparent from the administrative record” to one reasonable person may seem less clear to another. And some parties may be unsure whether to explore every conceivable avenue of standing in the first instance in light of the admonition in Sierra Club cautioning advocates to submit only “a concise recitation of the basis [for standing].” 292 F.3d at 901 (emphasis added); see also Am. Library Ass’n, 401 F.3d at 494 (noting that a “gotcha” construction of Circuit Rule 28(a)(7) and Sierra Club “is inconsistent with our precedent and would have the undesirable effect of causing parties to include long jurisdictional statements in practically all opening briefs for fear that the court might find their standing less than selfevident”). So it is hardly surprising that it sometimes happens, as it did in this case, that a party advances plausible arguments and offers concrete evidence in support of standing in its opening brief, reasonably assuming that nothing more is necessary, and the members of the panel still have questions. In such circumstances, as our case law shows, the court acts with prudence in applying Circuit Rule 28(a)(7) and in determining whether supplemental submissions are necessary. That is what was done in this case.