Opinion ID: 169642
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Failure to Address Certain Statutorily Enumerated Penalty Factors

Text: We conclude further that the district court also erred as a matter of law by failing to address certain statutory factors that must be considered in a CAA penalty analysis. Although the CAA does not prescribe what weight to apply to these factors, 42 U.S.C. § 7413(e)(1) of the Act clearly requires that the district court consider: (1) the size of the business and the economic impact of the penalty on the business; (2) the seriousness of the violation; (3) the violator's full compliance history; (4) good faith efforts to comply; (5) the duration of the violation as established by any credible evidence; (6) payment by the violator of penalties previously assessed for the same violation; (7) the economic benefit of noncompliance; and (8) the seriousness of the violations. Here, the district court did not consider the size of Airosol's business, Airosol's full compliance history, good faith efforts to comply, or the duration of the violation. Because the failure to consider the enumerated factors in § 7413(e)(1) is reversible error, we remand for the district court to include in its penalty analysis these additional factors. See, e.g., Dell'Aquilla, 150 F.3d at 339 (reversing penalty award for failure to consider evidence in violation of CAA mandate to consider economic impact of the penalty). Specifically, in its order where it declined to penalize Airosol for its CAA violations, the district court made a factual finding that [d]ue to its financial troubles, Airosol has decreased its workforce from approximately ninety employees to approximately thirty employees. Appx. at 541. Nonetheless, in the legal analysis that follows, the district court neither explicitly nor implicitly considered this factor. The district court also failed to consider Airosol's full compliance history and good faith efforts to comply with the CAA. 42 U.S.C. § 7413(e)(1). The district court's findings make clear that prior to suit (1) Airosol had never been in compliance with the amendments banning Class II substances, and (2) Airosol was aware of the Class II ban, but failed to properly file an application for reformulation, or to meaningfully inquire about the application it allegedly sent, or to otherwise comply with the Act. Also, Airosol sold Black Knight for months after the district court determined that its sale of Black Knight violated the Act. Appx. at 412 (Airosol admitted to offering Black Knight for sale until August 26, 2004[, but on this] date the sale of Black Knight was illegal pursuant to this court's March 10, 2004 order. . . .). The district court failed to consider any of this evidence. Finally, in its order declining to penalize Airosol for its CAA violations, the district court made a series of factual findings indicating that Airosol's violations lasted more than a decade, from January 1, 1994, through March 10, 2004. Airosol argues that since the district court found that Airosol's violation of the Act extended over a period of 2,715 days (when considering a period from October 4, 1996, through March 10, 2004), this finding was somehow meaningfully considered by the district court in its penalty analysis. Yet, the district court never discussed the duration of the violation as a factor in its penalty analysis, nor did it incorporate by reference its factual findings regarding duration of the violation into its legal analysis. On remand the district court should include in its penalty analysis consideration of these three factors, as well as the related evidence referenced above.