United States Ninth Circuit

In a dispute over whether "Fleet Rules" enacted by a political subdivision of the State of California responsible for air pollution control in a particular area are preempted by the federal Clean Air Act, summary judgment for the district and other defendants is affirmed in part, and vacated in part and remanded where: 1) the district court properly held that, under the market participant doctrine, the Clean Air Act does not preempt those provisions of the Fleet Rules directing state and local governmental entities' purchasing, procuring, leasing, and contracting decisions; but 2) the district court erred in refusing to consider whether the Clean Air Act preempts the other provisions of the Fleet Rules that are not protected by the market participant doctrine.

Appellate Information

• Argued 07/10/2007
• Decided 08/20/2007
• Published 08/20/2007

Judges

• Before:  BARRY G. SILVERMAN, W. FLETCHER, and RICHARD R. CLIFTON, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Timothy A. French, Neal, Gerber and Eisenberg, Chicago, IL, for the appellant., Michael R. Barr, Kevin M. Fong, Pillsbury Winthrop, San Francisco, CA;  Mark E. Elliott, Pillsbury Madison, et al., Los Angeles, CA, for the plaintiff-intervenor-appellant., Kipp A. Coddington, Alston & Bird, Washington, DC;  Timothey J. Dowling, Community Rights Counsel, Washington, DC;  Susan L. Durbin, Office of California Attorney General, Sacramento, CA, for the amici curiae.


• For Appellees:
  
• Fran M. Layton and Winter King, Shute, Mihaly and Weinberger LLP, San Francisco, CA;  Kurt R. Wiese and Barbara Baird, SCAQMD, Diamond Bar, CA;  Daniel P. Selmi, Los Angeles, CA, for the appellees., Julie Masters, Melissa L. Perrella, NRDC, Santa Monica, CA, for the defendant-intervenors-appellees.