Metropolitan Taxicab Board of Trade v. City of New York

Jul 27: In the U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, Case No. 09-2901. The City of New York, the New York City Taxicab & Limousine Commission, and City officials appeal a grant of a preliminary injunction by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, that enjoined the enforcement of the City's recently amended lease rates for taxicabs on the basis that the new rules are likely preempted under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) and the Clean Air Act (CAA). The lease rates for taxicabs effectively shifted fuel costs from drivers of fleet taxis to fleet owners to incentivize the use of hybrid-engine and fuel-efficient vehicles. The Appeals Court said, "We conclude that the preliminary injunction was appropriate and therefore affirm."

 

    The Appeals Court ruled further, "The sole issue before us is whether the plaintiffs have established a likelihood of success on the merits. . . The City's new rules, based expressly on the fuel economy of a leased vehicle, plainly fall within the scope of the EPCA preemption provision. The plaintiffs, therefore, have demonstrated a likelihood, indeed a certainty, of success on the merits, and we affirm the district court's preliminary injunction on this ground. Because preemption under the EPCA is sufficient to affirm the preliminary injunction, there is no need to reach the question of whether the preemption provision of the CAA would invalidate the City's new rules."

 

    Access the complete opinion (click here).