United States Second Circuit

District court judgment declaring a fee imposed on ferry passengers unconstitutional and enjoining collection of the fee until revised is affirmed where: 1) the existing fee violated the Commerce Clause as defendant failed to show that using a portion of the passenger fees to pay for services was based on a fair approximation of the ferry passengers' use; and 2) the fee violated the Tonnage Clause as it was used for the impermissible purpose of raising general revenues and for projects which did not benefit the ferry passengers.

Appellate Information

• Decided 05/29/2009
• Published 05/29/2009

Judges

• JON O. NEWMAN, Circuit Judge., Before:  NEWMAN and SACK, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Second Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Timothy F. Noelker, St. Louis, Mo., (James W. Erwin, Ryan K. Manger, Thompson Coburn LLP, St. Louis, Mo.;  Richard L. Rose, Everett E. Newton, Murtha Cullina LLP, Stamford, Conn., on the brief), for Defendant-Appellant., Martin Domb, New York, N.Y. (Jeremy A. Shure, Jordan M. Smith, Akerman Senterfitt LLP, New York, N.Y.;  Jonathan S. Bowman, Stewart I. Edelstein, Cohen and Wolf, P.C., Bridgeport, Conn., on the brief), for Plaintiffs-Appellees., (Steven E. Bers, Whiteford, Taylor & Preston LLP, Baltimore, Md. for amicus curiae Nat'l Ass'n of Passenger Vessel Owners, Inc., in support of Plaintiffs-Appellees.)