Esso Virgin Islands, Inc. v. Government of the United States ex rel. Virgin Islands Department of Licensing & Consumer Affairs

49 V.I. 1105, 2008 WL 2714242, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 49943
CourtDistrict Court, Virgin Islands
DecidedJune 30, 2008
DocketCivil No. 2004-175
StatusPublished

This text of 49 V.I. 1105 (Esso Virgin Islands, Inc. v. Government of the United States ex rel. Virgin Islands Department of Licensing & Consumer Affairs) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, Virgin Islands primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Esso Virgin Islands, Inc. v. Government of the United States ex rel. Virgin Islands Department of Licensing & Consumer Affairs, 49 V.I. 1105, 2008 WL 2714242, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 49943 (vid 2008).

Opinion

GÓMEZ, Chief Judge

MEMORANDUM OPINION

(June 30, 2008)

Before the Court is the motion of the defendants, Government of the United States Virgin Islands by and through the Virgin Islands Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs and Andrew Rutnick, in his official capacity as Commissioner of the Virgin Islands Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs (collectively referred to as the “Defendants”), to dismiss the complaint of the plaintiff, Esso Virgin Islands, Inc. (“Esso”).

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In June, 2004, the Virgin Islands Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs (the “DLCA”) completed a study of the Virgin Islands fuel market. Based on that study, on December 15, 2004, the DLCA issued an order (the “2004 Order”) that limited the gross profit margin of Virgin Islands gasoline and diesel fuel wholesalers to no more than thirty cents per gallon on the sale of their fuel products.

Thereafter, Esso, a gasoline and diesel fuel wholesaler in the Virgin Islands, commenced this six-count action. In Count I, Esso seeks a declaration from this Court that the 2004 Order is invalid on several grounds. In Count II, Esso alleges that Andrew Rutnick, in his official capacity as Commissioner of the Virgin Islands DLCA (“the Commissioner”), violated 42 U.S.C. § 1983 by taking Esso’s private [1110]*1110property. In Count III, Esso alleges that the Commissioner exceeded his statutory authority under Virgin Islands law by failing to promulgate rules and regulations as required by the Virgin Islands Code. Count IV asserts that the Commissioner violated 42 U.S.C. § 1983 by depriving Esso of due process. Count V asserts that the DLCA deprived Esso of its equal protection rights in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Finally, in Count VI, Esso seeks an injunction to prevent the Defendants from implementing the 2004 Order.

On March 17, 2005, the DLCA rescinded the 2004 Order.

The Defendants now seek to dismiss Esso’s complaint, primarily on grounds of mootness.1 Esso has filed an opposition.

II. DISCUSSION

A mootness analysis “traditionally begins with ‘the requirement of Article III of the Constitution under which the exercise of judicial power depends upon the existence of a case or controversy.’” Intn’l Bhd. of Boilermakers v. Kelly, 815 F.2d 912, 914 (3d Cir. 1987) (quoting North Carolina v. Rice, 404 U.S. 244, 246, 92 S. Ct. 402, 30 L. Ed. 2d 413 (1971)). The existence of a case or controversy requires “‘(1) a legal controversy that is real and not hypothetical, (2) a legal controversy that affects an individual in a concrete manner so as to provide the factual predicate for reasoned adjudication, and (3) a legal controversy with sufficiently adverse parties so as to sharpen the issues for judicial resolution.’” Id. at 915 (quoting Dow Chem. Co. v. EPA, 605 F.2d 673, 678 (3d Cir. 1979)). “The central question of all mootness problems is whether changes in circumstances that prevailed at the beginning of the litigation have forestalled any occasion for meaningful relief.” In re Surrick, 338 F.3d 224, 230 (3d Cir. 2003).

“Moreover, it does not matter when the case becomes moot.” The requirement that a case or controversy be ‘actual [and] ongoing’ extends throughout all stages of federal judicial proceedings, including appellate review.” Rendell v. Rumsfeld, 484 F.3d 236, 240-41 (3d Cir. 2007) (quoting Khodara Envtl., Inc. v. Beckman, 237 F.3d 186, 193 (3d Cir. [1111]*11112001)). ’’Hence, if a case becomes moot after the [trial court] enters judgment, an appellate court no longer has jurisdiction to review the matter on appeal.“ Id. at 241 (citing Mills v. Green, 159 U.S. 651, 653, 16 S. Ct. 132, 40 L. Ed. 293 (1895)).

The defendant bears a “heavy burden” to establish mootness. Thompson v. United States Dep’t of Labor, 813 F.2d 48, 51 (3d Cir. 1987) (quoting Iron Arrow Honor Society v. Heckler, 464 U.S. 67, 72, 104 S. Ct. 373, 78 L. Ed. 2d 58 (1983)).

III. ANALYSIS

Each of the Defendants’ several arguments in support of their motion to dismiss will be addressed in turn.

A. Mootness

The Defendants first assert that Esso’s complaint must be dismissed on grounds of mootness because the 2004 Order has been rescinded. In opposition, Esso maintains that its claims are either not moot or capable of repetition.

On March 17, 2005, the DLCA rescinded the 2004 Order. As a consequence, Esso’s challenge of that order, as a practical matter, is moot. See, e.g., Utah Shared Access Alliance v. Carpenter, 463 F.3d 1125, 1134-35 (10th Cir. 2006) (finding a lawsuit relating to Bureau of Land Management orders moot where those orders had been superseded by subsequent orders), cert. denied, 127 S. Ct. 2100, 167 L. Ed. 2d 814 (2007); Greenpeace Action v. Franklin, 14 F.3d 1324, 1329 (9th Cir. 1992) (noting that the court could not technically grant the appellant “effective relief on its claim that” a rescinded administrative order had been unlawfully approved); Halvonik v. Reagan, 457 F.2d 311, 313-14 (9th Cir. 1972) (finding a lawsuit challenging loitering and assembly regulations moot after the regulations were rescinded). However, even if rescission of the 2004 Order weighs in favor of the Defendants’ mootness argument, Esso’s claims may still be heard in this Court.

Under the “capable of repetition” exception, “a court may exercise its jurisdiction and consider the merits of a case that would otherwise be deemed moot when ‘(1) the challenged action is, in its duration, too short to be fully litigated prior to cessation or expiration, and (2) there is a reasonable expectation that the same complaining party will be subject to [1112]*1112the same action again.’” Rendell, 484 F.3d at 241 (quoting Spencer v. Kemna, 523 U.S. 1, 17, 118 S. Ct. 978, 140 L. Ed. 2d 43 (1998)). “The exception from the mootness doctrine for cases that are technically moot but ‘capable of repetition, yet evading review’ is narrow and available ‘only in exceptional situations.’” Id. (citing City of Los Angeles v. Lyons, 461 U.S. 95, 109, 103 S. Ct. 1660, 75 L. Ed. 2d 675 (1983); Weinstein v. Bradford,

Related

Mills v. Green
159 U.S. 651 (Supreme Court, 1895)
Pennsylvania Coal Co. v. Mahon
260 U.S. 393 (Supreme Court, 1922)
North Carolina v. Rice
404 U.S. 244 (Supreme Court, 1971)
Weinstein v. Bradford
423 U.S. 147 (Supreme Court, 1975)
Alabama v. Pugh
438 U.S. 781 (Supreme Court, 1978)
Quern v. Jordan
440 U.S. 332 (Supreme Court, 1979)
City of Mesquite v. Aladdin's Castle, Inc.
455 U.S. 283 (Supreme Court, 1982)
Murphy v. Hunt
455 U.S. 478 (Supreme Court, 1982)
City of Los Angeles v. Lyons
461 U.S. 95 (Supreme Court, 1983)
Iron Arrow Honor Society v. Heckler
464 U.S. 67 (Supreme Court, 1983)
Pennhurst State School and Hospital v. Halderman
465 U.S. 89 (Supreme Court, 1984)
West v. Atkins
487 U.S. 42 (Supreme Court, 1988)
Will v. Michigan Department of State Police
491 U.S. 58 (Supreme Court, 1989)
Ngiraingas v. Sanchez
495 U.S. 182 (Supreme Court, 1990)
Spencer v. Kemna
523 U.S. 1 (Supreme Court, 1998)
Utah Shared Access Alliance v. Carpenter
463 F.3d 1125 (Tenth Circuit, 2006)
Paul N. Halvonik v. Ronald Reagan and Frank Madigan
457 F.2d 311 (Ninth Circuit, 1972)
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Porter
659 F.2d 306 (Third Circuit, 1981)

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49 V.I. 1105, 2008 WL 2714242, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 49943, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/esso-virgin-islands-inc-v-government-of-the-united-states-ex-rel-virgin-vid-2008.