In a seminal administrative law ruling, the D.C. Circuit has unanimously ruled in favor of our beleaguered working-class clients the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association in Maine Lobstermen’s Ass’n v. Nat’l Marine Fisheries Serv., 70 F.4th 582 (D.C. Cir. 2023). After the District of D.C. issued summary judgment against our clients on their challenges against the National Marine and Fisheries Services’ industry-obliterating regulations, the D.C. Circuit unanimously reversed on all grounds. NMFS tried numerous procedural tricks to avoid the ruling, including seeking to dismiss on mootness grounds and arguing lack of standing and waiver of arguments; the D.C. Circuit rejected all these tactics. On the merits, the D.C. Circuit held the NMFS had violated the APA and the ESA’s requirement to use reasonably certain outcomes when NMFS instead used “worst case scenario” interpretations of uncertain data to effectively place all blame for the Right Whale’s decline on lobstermen. This ruling ensures the continued operation a centuries-old industry that has taken cutting-edge steps to ensure the continued protection of the Right Whale.
Great work to our attorneys Samuel Blatchley, Daniel Cragg, and Robby Dube!