Opinion ID: 185813
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Eleventh Circuit Litigation

Text: 15 National Coal Association (NCA), a trade association, and eight coal companies brought suit under the APA in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, challenging the Commissioner's premium calculation and his interpretation of the term reimbursements in the Coal Act. See Nat'l Coal Ass'n, 1995 WL 1052240. The coal companies sought to enjoin the Commissioner to recalculate the initial and all subsequent annual premiums consistent with an interpretation of reimbursements that meant the entire amount that HCFA paid the Plans, rather than the portion that equaled the Plans' actual Medicare-covered costs. The Commissioner initially moved to dismiss the complaint for failure to join the Trustees of the Fund as a necessary party, but the court denied the motion. The court found that the Commissioner's interpretation of the statutory term reimbursements contradicted the plain meaning of the term, and enjoined the Commissioner to recalculate the premium by deducting from the Plans' health care costs the entire amount that HCFA paid to the Plans. The Eleventh Circuit affirmed, agreeing that the Commissioner's interpretation was inconsistent with the plain meaning of the statute. See Nat'l Coal Ass'n, 81 F.3d at 1082. The Commissioner did not seek certiorari. 16 The Commissioner recalculated the premium to conform to the injunction and notified the Trustees of the recalculated amount, which was now reduced by 10%. Although the Eleventh Circuit's judgment did not technically bind the Commissioner with respect to coal companies who were not plaintiffs in the litigation, the Commissioner implemented the new interpretation nationwide.