United States First Circuit
Admin. for Child Support of the Dep't of the Family of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico v. Dep't of Health & Human Serv. of the US, 08-2169
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In plaintiff's action challenging the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) assessment of a financial penalty against certain federal grant money used to fund Puerto Rico's child support enforcement programs, after HHS had determined that Puerto Rico had failed to satisfy data reporting requirements or meet performance benchmarks in consecutive fiscal years, district court's judgment rejecting plaintiff's contentions is affirmed where: 1) the HHS's decision not to accept and consider plaintiff's untimely PEP data to determine its fiscal year 2001 performance for incentive purposes was neither arbitrary not capricious; and 2) the HHS's interpretation of the notice provision was reasonable and entitled to deference.
Appellate Information
- Decided 12/07/2009
- Published 12/07/2009
Judges
- TORRUELLA, Circuit Judge., Before TORRUELLA, BOUDIN, and DYK, Circuit Judges.
Court
- United States First Circuit
Counsel
- For Appellant:
- Pedro J. Varela-Fernández, on brief for appellant.
- For Appellees:
- Catherine Y. Hancock and Michael S. Raab, Attorneys, Appellate Staff, Civil Division, Michael F. Hertz, Acting Assistant Attorney General, Rosa E. Rodríguez-Vélez, United States Attorney. As Of Counsel: David S. Cade, Acting General Counsel, Robert E. Keith, Associate General Counsel, Children, Families & Aging Division, William Alvarado-Rivera, Chief of Litigation, Children, Families & Aging Division, on brief for appellee.