Court Opinion

ID: 9469125
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 02:32:45.930053+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:41:14.206074
License: Public Domain

KILKENNY, Circuit Judge,
concurring and dissenting:
I concur in that part of the majority’s opinion upholding the basic validity of the regulation in question. However, I cannot agree with its holding that the interim regulation is invalid due to noncompliance with the Administrative Procedures Act.
As stated by the majority on the first page of the opinion, the facts are not in dispute. Consequently, the lower court’s decision was actually a decision on the merits despite its use of summary judgment to dispose of the case.
Before us is a situation where the plaintiffs and the Secretary agree that the Regulation, 20 CFR 416.1125(d), published in final form on July 7, 1978, is valid and is identical to the interim regulation challenged in this case. The district court held that in light of these facts, the plaintiff had not shown any prejudice. To permit a party to prevail where no harm has been demonstrated is nothing short of allowing litigants to use the federal courts to complain about things that in no way affect them. Courts were not established for such a purpose. True enough, the courts must see to it that administrative agencies follow correct rule-making procedures. However, in my view, this does not mean that no harm or prejudice need be shown before a defect in the rule making process may become the foundation for a lawsuit.
United States Steel Corp. v. Environmental Protection Agency, 595 F.2d 207 (CA5 1979), a case relied upon -by the majority is consistent with this theory. I quote:
“Nor can the Agency rest on the doctrine of harmless error. While that doctrine has been held applicable to review of agency actions, and has statutory sanction in the APA, it is to be used only ‘when a mistake of the administrative body is one that clearly had no bearing on the procedure used or the substance of the decision reached.’ Braniff Airways v. CAB, 379 F.2d 453 (CADC 1967). Here the Agency’s error plainly affected the procedure used, and we cannot assume that there was no prejudice to the petitioners. Absence of such prejudice must be clear for harmless error to be applicable.” 595 F.2d at 215. [Emphasis added]
Unlike the court in U. S. Steel, this panel need not assume anything. The district court clearly held that the defect was not prejudicial. The facts being undisputed, this ruling is subject to the “clearly erroneous” rule. F.R.Civ.P. 52(a); CIR v. Duberstein, 363 U.S. 278, 291, 80 S.Ct. 1190, 1199, 4 L.Ed.2d 1218 (1960); Lungren v. Freeman, 307 F.2d 104, 105, 115 (CA9 1962). My review of the record discloses nothing sufficient to disturb this finding.
*359I would affirm the judgment of the lower court in full.