Stand Up for Cal. v. U.S. Dep't of Interior

315 F. Supp. 3d 289
CourtCourt of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
DecidedMay 30, 2018
DocketCase No. 1:17–cv–00058 (TNM)
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 315 F. Supp. 3d 289 (Stand Up for Cal. v. U.S. Dep't of Interior) 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
Stand Up for Cal. v. U.S. Dep't of Interior, 315 F. Supp. 3d 289 (D.C. Cir. 2018).

Opinion

TREVOR N. MCFADDEN, United States District Judge

Plaintiffs Stand Up for California!, Patty Johnson, Joe Teixeira, and Lynn Wheat challenge the adequacy of the administrative record for judicial review of the Department of Interior's decision to approve acquiring land in trust for the Wilton Rancheria tribe and seek discovery in the form of a privilege log from the Department. Specifically, the Plaintiffs dispute excluding a variety of documents from the administrative record, claim that some attachments to emails otherwise included in the administrative record are missing, and seek to unredact header information (e.g. , authors, recipients, transmission time, subject) of emails in the record. The Plaintiffs also argue that the Department improperly "predetermined the outcome" of the Wilton Rancheria's application and that this, coupled with other indicia of bad faith-a rushed review process, culminating *292in a decision issued on the eve of the change in Presidential Administrations; pressure from the Senate Minority Leader; and the Department's representation to another judge of this District that the timing of any decision was uncertain yet issuing a decision days later-warrants the production of a privilege log.

The Court finds that none of the three narrow "unusual circumstances" apply here to require supplementing the administrative record, see Dist. Hosp. Partners, L.P. v. Burwell , 786 F.3d 46, 55 (D.C. Cir. 2015), but that the combination of facts marshalled by the Plaintiffs present a prima facie case of bad faith to warrant production of a privilege log. See Air Transp. Ass'n of Am., Inc. v. Nat'l Mediation Bd. , 663 F.3d 476, 487-88 (D.C. Cir. 2011). Accordingly, the Plaintiffs' motion to supplement the administrative record will denied and their motion for discovery will be granted.

I. BACKGROUND

The Wilton Rancheria (the "Tribe") is a federally recognized Indian Tribe that has been landless since 1958. Am. Compl. ¶¶ 14, 28. In 2013, the Tribe applied to the Bureau of Indian Affairs ("BIA") to acquire land in trust on its behalf for a casino and proposed a 282-acre plot near Galt, California. Id. ¶ 31; see also 25 U.S.C. § 5108 (authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to acquire land in trust for Indian tribes or individuals). The BIA vetted the proposal, including holding a public scoping meeting on the Environmental Impact Statement ("EIS") in December 2013, issuing an EIS Scoping Report in February 2014, and publishing a Notice of Availability of the Draft EIS in December 2015. Am. Compl. ¶¶ 32-34. All of these procedures, completed over a two-year period, were conducted on the proposed Galt site. Id.

Following the 2016 Presidential election, the Department completed procedures to take land into trust for the Tribe, but for an entirely different parcel of land in Elk Grove, California. See id. ¶ 38. In mid-November 2016, the BIA issued a Notice of (Gaming) Land Application for the Elk Grove land and in mid-December 2016, published a Notice of Availability for the Final EIS that identified a 36-acre parcel in Elk Grove. Id. The Plaintiffs, residents of Elk Grove and a non-profit organization supporting their efforts, allege that this was the first time over the years-long process that BIA identified this site. Id.1 The Plaintiffs quickly and repeatedly-on December 29, 2016 and January 6, 2017-requested that the Department delay the acquisition of the Elk Grove site, but the Department refused to accede to the request. See Fed. Defs. Answer to Pls.' Am. Compl. ("Fed. Defs. Answer") ¶ 40.

Having struck out with the Department, the Plaintiffs turned to the judicial system and, on January 11, 2017, filed in this District a motion for an emergency temporary restraining order against acquiring title to the land. Am. Compl. ¶ 41. One of my colleagues heard arguments and denied the motion on January 13, 2017. Minute Entry, Jan. 13, 2017; see also TRO Hr'g Tr., Jan. 13, 2017, ECF No. 25. During the hearing, the District Judge asked the Department about the anticipated timing of the decision, and the Department replied that there was "still some uncertainty left" to the timing of the process, and that one of the factors affecting the timing would be addressing the public comments received. Id. 37:9-25. The Department represented that the earliest *293date the land could be taken into trust was January 17, 2017, the same date as the close of the final public comment period. Id.

On that day, the Plaintiffs applied to the Department for a formal stay of proceedings under 5 U.S.C. § 705. Fed. Defs. Answer ¶ 43. The Department did not deny the request until February 10, 2017, but by then, the Department had issued a Record of Decision approving the Tribe's trust application. Id. ¶ 46; Am. Compl. ¶¶ 53-55. The Record of Decision was issued on January 19, 2017, the last day of the Obama Administration and a little over two months after the BIA first allegedly identified the Elk Grove land. See Am. Compl. ¶¶ 38, 45. After exhausting their administrative appeal, the Plaintiffs returned to this Court to challenge the authority of the individuals who signed the January 19, 2017 Record of Decision and a February 10, 2017 decision to acquire title in trust for the Tribe.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
315 F. Supp. 3d 289, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/stand-up-for-cal-v-us-dept-of-interior-cadc-2018.