Opinion ID: 464791
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: the two interpretations at issue

Text: 61 Because the district court disposed of the case on the issue of nonreviewability, it had no opportunity to pass judgment on whether the particular statutory interpretations adopted by the Department are reasonable under the standards set out in Chevron, U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837, 104 S.Ct. 2778, 81 L.Ed.2d 694 (1984). Undoubtedly because the appeal involved so many preliminary issues of justiciability and reviewability, the parties' briefs gave minimal attention to the substance of the challenged interpretations. In light of both factors, we think it both efficient and prudent to remand the substantive issues to the district court for an initial evaluation. 62 It is the general rule, of course, that a federal appellate court does not consider an issue not passed upon below. Singleton v. Wulff, 428 U.S. 106, 120, 96 S.Ct. 2868, 2877, 49 L.Ed.2d 826 (1976); accord Youakim v. Miller, 425 U.S. 231, 234, 96 S.Ct. 1399, 1401, 47 L.Ed.2d 701 (1976); California v. Taylor, 353 U.S. 553, 557 n. 2, 77 S.Ct. 1037, 1039 n. 2 1 L.Ed.2d 1034 (1957). When the issues have, through no fault of the parties, not been briefed or argued adequately in any forum, the appropriate disposition is typically to remand the case to the district court. Doe v. diGenova, 779 F.2d 74, 89 (D.C.Cir.1985); see generally Hormel v. Helvering, 312 U.S. 552, 556, 61 S.Ct. 719, 85 L.Ed. 1037 (1941); District of Columbia v. Air Florida, Inc., 750 F.2d 1077, 1084-85 (D.C.Cir.1984); British Airways Board v. Port Authority of New York, 558 F.2d 75, 82 (D.C.Cir.1977); Doe v. McMillan, 459 F.2d 1304, 1311 n. 10 (D.C.Cir.1972), aff'd in part, rev'd in part, 412 U.S. 306, 93 S.Ct. 2018, 36 L.Ed.2d 912 (1973); Johnston v. Reily, 160 F.2d 249, 250 (D.C.Cir.1947). 63 We recognize, of course, that this is not a case where further factual development is necessary to proceed, so we are not compelled to remand. Nonetheless, we are reluctant to pass judgment on an issue involving so complex a statute as the LMRDA without the benefit of adequate briefing and argument. Even where issues are purely legal, advocates' arguments often provide insights and perceptions that are simply not ascertainable through library research alone. Deciding an issue without adequate briefing places an inordinate load on the system. We, therefore, remand these issues to the district court, the forum in which Congress vested original jurisdiction in this matter, for its judgment on the substantive 18 merits.