ATA Files Appeal in L.A. Port ‘Clean Trucks’ Case
Attorneys for American Trucking Associations have filed formal notice that they are appealing a federal judge’s ruling late last month that the Port of Los Angeles’ employee-only concession clean trucks plan is legal.
In its notice filed with the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, ATA said its primary ground for appeal will center on Los Angeles U.S. District Court Judge Christina Snyder’s “error of law” in ruling that the port could ban independent drayage operators because it was acting as a “market participant” and not as a regulator in implementing its diesel emissions plan.
ATA also said it will likely call for an “expedited” stay by the court to block the port from moving forward with its clean trucks plan before the appeals court can resolve all legal issues if the court agrees to hear the group’s appeal. (Click here for previous story.)
“In our appeal we are challenging each of the erroneous rulings made by Judge Snyder on matters of law, and in particular her ruling on the market participant defense,” Curtis Whalen, executive director of ATA’s Intermodal Motor Carriers Conference, told Transport Topics.
“We are also raising as a potential issue on appeal the evidentiary rulings Judge Snyder made preventing ATA from accessing documents and evidence which the Port of Los Angeles contends are protected by the deliberative process privilege,” he said.
A port spokesman said harbor commissioners are planning to discuss how to proceed on implementation of the clean trucks program at its Sept. 27 meeting.
