Polyweave Packaging, Inc. v. Buttigieg, No. 21-5929 (6th Cir. 2022)
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The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (within the Department of Transportation (DOT)) found that Polyweave had violated federal regulations and assessed a $14,460 civil penalty. While seeking judicial review of that civil-penalty order in the court of appeals, Polyweave filed suit in district court seeking injunctive and declaratory relief to prevent DOT from rescinding a regulation (Subpart D) that included requirements for enforcement actions taken by DOT administrations, such as the Polyweave enforcement proceeding. Polyweave argued that the DOT improperly rescinded Subpart D and alleges that it, therefore, incurred procedural injuries in the underlying enforcement proceeding.
The Seventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of the suit. The district court lacked jurisdiction over Polyweave’s claims because the court of appeals exclusive jurisdiction (49 U.S.C. 5127) over judicial review of the underlying agency order bars Polyweave from attempting to litigate the rescission of Subpart D in the district court. When Congress places judicial review of certain types of agency action in the court of appeals rather than the district court, this jurisdictional allocation cannot be circumvented by suing in the district court to challenge agency procedures used (or omitted) in the proceedings leading to such actions, at least where court-of-appeals jurisdiction provides a fully effective forum to address such arguments. The only plausible bases for asserting Article III injury in this case, which involves enforcement procedures, can be asserted in review of the agency action in which those procedures were applied.
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