Opinion ID: 543813
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: jurisdiction

Text: 30 The DOE has moved to dismiss Appeal No. 87-1890, arguing that this court lacks jurisdiction to decide whether the DOE's claim is a fine, penalty, or forfeiture because exclusive jurisdiction to decide that issue rests with the Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals. We deny the motion to dismiss. 31 The TECA has exclusive jurisdiction to decide issues arising under the ESA or the EPAA. Section 211(b)(2) of the ESA, which is incorporated into the EPAA, provides:[T]he Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals shall have exclusive jurisdiction of all appeals from the district courts of the United States in cases and controversies arising under [the ESA, the EPAA, and] under regulations or orders issued thereunder. 32 Economic Stabilization Act Amendments of 1971, Pub.L. No. 92-210, Sec. 211(b)(2), 85 Stat. 743, 749 (1971) (incorporated by reference in Sec. 5(a)(1) of the EPAA, 15 U.S.C. Sec. 754(a)(1)). That provision for the TECA's exclusive jurisdiction was designed to provide for speedy resolution of cases brought under the ESA or EPAA by a court with special expertise, and to ensure consistency of decisions. See Bray v. United States, 423 U.S. 73, 74, 96 S.Ct. 307, 309, 46 L.Ed.2d 215 (1975); S.Rep. No. 92-507, 92d Cong., 1st Sess. 10, reprinted in 1971 U.S.Code Cong. & Admin.News 2283, 2292. 33 The primary question here is whether the issue before us on appeal is one arising under the ESA or EPAA. Several courts have held, and we agree, that the TECA's arising under jurisdiction is a form of issue jurisdiction, i.e., the TECA has exclusive jurisdiction over ESA/EPAA issues actually adjudicated by a district court. 11 See, e.g., RJG Cab, Inc. v. Hodel, 797 F.2d 111, 117 (3d Cir.1986) (collecting cases); Coastal States Marketing, Inc. v. New England Petroleum Corp., 604 F.2d 179, 184-87 (2d Cir.1979). Therefore, in deciding whether the TECA or this court has jurisdiction, we must conduct a jurisdictional inquiry into each claim raised ... [in this] appeal. United States v. Wyatt, 680 F.2d 1080, 1085 n. 7 (5th Cir.1982). 34 An ESA/EPAA issue is one involving the construction, validity, or effect of the ESA or EPAA. Scallop Corp. v. Tully, 705 F.2d 645, 647 (2d Cir.1983); see also Wyatt, 680 F.2d at 1083. The crucial question is whether the case involves issues that must be decided by TECA in order that 'uniform interpretation of the substantive provisions of the' statute may be achieved. United States v. Uni Oil, Inc., 646 F.2d 946, 951 (5th Cir.1981) (quoting Bray, 423 U.S. at 75, 96 S.Ct. at 309), cert. denied, 455 U.S. 908, 102 S.Ct. 1254, 71 L.Ed.2d 446 (1982). 35 Here, the DOE sought restitution for the overcharges pursuant to Section 209 of the ESA, which is incorporated in Section 5(a)(1) of the EPAA, 15 U.S.C. Sec. 754(a)(1). But the validity of the pricing and restitution regulations and their application in this case already have been adjudicated before the Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals. See Seneca Oil Co. v. Department of Energy, 712 F.2d 1384 (Temp.Emer.Ct.App.1983). The question before us is whether the restitution claim is a fine, penalty, or forfeiture within the meaning of the Bankruptcy Code. This appeal is not from an action to enforce DOE regulations or to obtain an order of restitution; rather, it is from a decision regarding the priority of the restitution claim in bankruptcy. 12 Although non-bankruptcy law creates the DOE's claim here, it is bankruptcy law that determines the priority of that claim in bankruptcy. The ESA and EPAA provide only the backdrop for the issue of the priority of the DOE's claim. Therefore, the issue of the priority of the DOE's claim is an issue of federal bankruptcy law, not an issue arising under the ESA or EPAA. Compare Uni Oil, 646 F.2d at 952 (the defenses raised did not involve interpretation and application of the EPAA; rather, they involved interpretation of the proper scope of the criminal code statutes under which the defendants were charged) with Mountain Fuel Supply Co. v. Johnson, 586 F.2d 1375, 1383-84 (10th Cir.1978) (TECA had exclusive jurisdiction where there was no basis for federal jurisdiction other than the ESA and the appeal involved the validity and the application of the ESA and regulations thereunder), cert. denied, 441 U.S. 952, 99 S.Ct. 2182, 60 L.Ed.2d 1058 (1979) and Coastal States Marketing, 604 F.2d at 187 (where only issue was whether plaintiff had violated EPAA, TECA had exclusive jurisdiction). 36 The DOE largely relies upon the TECA's decision in Department of Energy v. West Texas Marketing Corp., 763 F.2d 1411 (Temp.Emer.Ct.App.1985) to support its argument that the TECA has exclusive jurisdiction. In that case, the TECA held that it had exclusive jurisdiction over the same issue as the one raised in the instant appeal, i.e., whether the DOE's claim for restitution under Section 209 of the ESA is a fine, penalty, or forfeiture under Section 726(a)(4) of the Bankruptcy Code. Because, as discussed above, we believe that the issue of whether a claim is a fine, penalty, or forfeiture under federal bankruptcy law is a bankruptcy rather than an ESA/EPAA question, we disagree with the TECA's jurisdictional analysis in West Texas Marketing. We conclude that the issue presented in this appeal is not an issue arising under the ESA or EPAA and is instead an issue over which this court, and not the Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals, has jurisdiction. 13 37