Classic Cab, Inc. v. Dist. of Columbia

288 F. Supp. 3d 218
CourtCourt of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
DecidedJanuary 24, 2018
DocketCase No. 17–cv–2820 (CRC)
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 288 F. Supp. 3d 218 (Classic Cab, Inc. v. Dist. of Columbia) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Classic Cab, Inc. v. Dist. of Columbia, 288 F. Supp. 3d 218 (D.C. Cir. 2018).

Opinion

CHRISTOPHER R. COOPER, United States District Judge

The District of Columbia's Department of For-Hire Vehicles has been on a years-long campaign to modernize the District's taxicab industry. Facing competitive pressure from app-based ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft, the Department beginning in late 2016 adopted a series of rules that require taxi operators to transition from traditional analog metering systems to newer systems called "digital taxicab solutions," or "DTS." Like those popular ride-hailing services, the DTS systems are designed to run on mobile devices and calculate fares using GPS technology.

Classic Cab, Inc., a taxicab operator in the District, along with its owner, brought this eleventh-hour suit on December 29, 2017, seeking to halt the DTS requirement from going into effect on the first day of the New Year. In their motion for a temporary restraining order, they contend that the Department's rulemaking violates several federal constitutional provisions as well as the District of Columbia Administrative Procedure Act, and that those violations have caused them serious economic harm. For the reasons that follow, the Court finds that the plaintiffs are not entitled to preliminary relief, and it will therefore deny their motion.

I. Background

The Department of For-Hire Vehicles has regulatory authority over all taxicab operators in the District of Columbia. D.C. Code § 50-301.07. Among the Department's powers is the ability to "[e]stablish standards and requirements relating to the modernization of equipment and equipment *222design." Id. § 50-301.07(c)(5). It exercises this power through administrative rulemaking, subject to the requirements of the District of Columbia Administrative Procedure Act ("D.C. APA"), D.C. Code § 2-505. See id. § 50-301.07(d)(1) (providing that D.C. APA applies to Department rulemaking).

The D.C. APA generally requires agencies to issue notice and hold a public comment period before implementing a rule. See D.C. Code § 2-505(a) - (b). The Department's DTS rules, however, were issued pursuant to § 2-505(c), which allows for "emergency rulemaking" in certain circumstances. That section provides:

[I]f, in an emergency, as determined by the Mayor or an independent agency, the adoption of a rule is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety, welfare, or morals, the Mayor or such independent agency may adopt such rules as may be necessary in the circumstances, and such rule may become effective immediately. Any such emergency rule shall forthwith be published and filed in the manner prescribed in subchapter III of this chapter. No such rule shall remain in effect longer than 120 days after the date of its adoption.

Beginning in September 2016, the District issued a string of seven emergency rulemaking notices related to DTS. The first notice provided that, beginning on September 13, 2016, the District would no longer approve any non-DTS systems for use in taxicabs. Def.'s Opp. Ex. B, at 9. Taxicabs would be permitted to use either MTS or DTS systems for a year, but, beginning in September 2017, taxicabs would be required to use DTS systems or else face civil penalties. Id. While not published in the D.C. Register, this first notice was posted on the District's website along with instructions for filing written comments. Def.'s Opp. Ex. B, at 22. The Department also published notice in the D.C. Register of a November 2016 hearing regarding that rulemaking. 63 D.C. Reg. 13694.

As provided by § 2-505(c), this first rulemaking expired on January 11, 2017, 120 days after its effective date. Following its expiration, the Department issued a second notice that was substantially similar to the first and also unpublished. Id. Ex. C. This process repeated four more times, with notices issued on May 11 (id. Ex. D), June 28 (id. Ex. E), and August 11, 2017 (id. Ex. G). Each of the rules stated that the DTS requirement would become effective on September 1, 2017. Then, on September 1, the Department issued a sixth emergency notice, this time publishing it in the D.C. Register. See 64 D.C. Reg. 8696. The notice, citing concerns about implementation, pushed back the effective date of the DTS requirement to October 31, 2017. See id. The Department held a public hearing in late September, see 64 D.C. Reg. 65396 (hearing notice), and provided a 45-day comment period, see 64 D.C. Reg. 11950.

To account for the comments submitted-particularly those related to accessibility of the new systems-the Department published a seventh notice on October 27 setting forth the DTS requirement that is currently in force. Id. This "Notice of Second Emergency and Proposed Rulemaking" slightly modified the prior notice and extended the effective date from October 31, 2017 to January 1, 2018. Id. Beginning on that date, no taxicab would be able to operate in the District of Columbia unless it used a DTS system. Id. The Department held a hearing regarding this second notice on December 12, 2017, 64 D.C. Reg. 66538 (Dec. 8, 2017), and purports to be crafting a final, non-emergency version of the rule *223that will be issued shortly, see Defs.' Opp.

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288 F. Supp. 3d 218, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/classic-cab-inc-v-dist-of-columbia-cadc-2018.