Opinion ID: 440507
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Restriction of Appellants' Case

Text: 35 Kunaknana and Numnik contend that the district court erred by unreasonably restricting the presentation of their case. Specifically, error is alleged in the district court's refusal to consider the affidavits of two of appellants' expert witnesses; limitation of discovery; and improper resolution of the MROD issue on summary judgment. 36 As noted earlier, trial court review of agency decision-making is generally limited to the existing administrative record. Overton Park, id. This record may be supplemented with testimony from the officials who participated in the decision explaining their action or by formal findings prepared by the agency explaining its decision. ASARCO, 616 F.2d at 1159-60. Outside information is admissible only for limited purposes. Id. at 1160-61. See Bunker Hill, 572 F.2d at 1292 (outside evidence admitted to furnish background information); see also Association of Pacific Fisheries v. Environmental Protection Agency, 615 F.2d 794, 811 (9th Cir.1980) (outside evidence used to ascertain whether all relevant factors were considered). [T]echnical testimony ... elicited for the purpose of determining the scientific merit of the [agency's] decision, is not generally admissible. ASARCO, id. at 1161. 37 Our review leads us to conclude that the expert witness affidavits offered by appellants, CR 68, are the type of technical testimony prepared for the purpose of contesting the scientific merit of the agency's analysis which we rejected in ASARCO. The district court's decision to exclude these documents on review is affirmed. 38 Appellants' contention that curtailment of discovery forced presentation of their case on an incomplete record lacks merit. The order staying discovery permitted deposition of BLM officials Jerry Wickstrom and James Gilliam and did not limit the areas of inquiry. CR 67. In view of the statutory mandate to expedite, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 6508, we do not find that the district court abused its discretion in foreclosing discovery and setting an abbreviated briefing schedule. O'Brien v. Sky Chefs, Inc., 670 F.2d 864, 869 (9th Cir.1982). 39 Finally, Kunaknana and Numnik claim that the district court improperly resolved this matter on motion for summary judgment. We disagree. Our review reveals a trial by the court on December 12, 1983, followed by a resolution of the contested fact issues in a Decision of Record entered December 20, 1983. We find that the district court conducted the proper inquiry in the acceptable format.