Western Radio Services Co. v. Allen

147 F. Supp. 3d 1132, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 158537, 2015 WL 7571814
CourtDistrict Court, D. Oregon
DecidedNovember 24, 2015
DocketCase No. 6:14-00747-AA
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 147 F. Supp. 3d 1132 (Western Radio Services Co. v. Allen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Western Radio Services Co. v. Allen, 147 F. Supp. 3d 1132, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 158537, 2015 WL 7571814 (D. Or. 2015).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

AIKEN, Chief Judge:

Plaintiff Western Radio Services Company, Inc., (Western Radio) filed suit under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA), 5 U.S.C. § 706, alleging that the United States Forest Service (Forest Service) took arbitrary and capricious action and unlawfully withheld action in violation of 16 U.S.C. § 497. Western Radio’s claims arise from ongoing disputes between it and the Forest Service regarding Western Radio’s telecommunications facilities on National Forest lands.1 The Forest Service denies Western Radio’s claims and asserts counterclaims for trespass and unjust enrichment. :

The Forest Service now moves for summary'judgment on Western Radio’s APA claims and its counterclaims; plaintiff likewise moves for summary judgment on the Forest Service’s counterclaims. Further, the Forest Service again moves for a preliminary injunction requiring Western Radio to remove equipment and facilities from the Gray Butte telecommunications site. The Forest Service’s motions for summary judgment and preliminary injunctive are granted, and plaintiffs motion is denied.

BACKGROUND

Western Radio operates telecommunication facilities within National Forest lands pursuant to permits and leases authorized by the Forest Service. At three telecommunications sites — Gray Butte, Sugar Pine Butte, and Round Mountain- — Western Radio has made improvements to the land and/or built structures such as telecommunications towers. Western Radio also has sought to establish a facility at a fourth site, South Paulina Peak. As explained in further detail below, the Forest Service either has revoked or declined to renew Western Radio’s leases to maintain facilities at Gray Butte, Sugar Pine Butte and Round Mountain. The Forest Service also has- denied permission for Western Radio to install communications facilities at South Paulina Peak.

On May 5, 2014, Western Radio filed this action. Western Radio alleges that the Forest Service’s actions are arbitrary and capricious and constitute unreasonable interpretations of its own regulations under the APA. Western Radio also alleges that the Forest Service unlawfully withheld and unreasonably delayed action on Western Radio’s various applications.

Despite the legal dispute over Western Radio’s authorization, to remain at Gray Butte, on July 31, 2014, Western Radio entered into a five-year lease agreement with a third-party tenant, Sureline, Inc. [1137]*1137(Sureline) and allowed Sureline to install telecommunications equipment at its Gray Butte facility. Shortly afterward, other site users notified the Forest Service "that Western Radio had not provided the required 30-day notice of new frequencies or tenants at the site, and that Sureline’s operations caused interference with authorized tenants.

On November 13, 2014, the Forest Service was granted leave to amend its answer and allege counterclaims of trespass and unjust enrichment against Western Radio. The Forest Service contends that Western Radio is in trespass at Sugar Pine Butte, Gray Butte and Round Mountain, that its structures and improvements are now property of the Forest Service, and that Western Radio has unjustly benefited by remaining on Forest Service lands and operating its facilities without authorization or payment of fees.

DISCUSSION

A. Plaintiffs APA Claims

Western Radio alleges violations of 16 U.S.C. § 497(c), which authorizes the Forest Service to permit the use and occupancy of public lands for industrial or commercial purposes. Compl. at 2.2 However, 16 U.S.C. § 497 does not contain a provision for judicial review; therefore, a plaintiff alleging that an agency failed to comply with a statute must bring its claims under the APA. City of Sausalito v. O’Neill, 386 F.3d 1186, 1205 (9th Cir.2004). Here, Western Radio alleges that the Forest Service unlawfully withheld action on a development proposal and unlawfully revoked or declined to renew its telecommunication leases.

Under § 706(1) of the APA, a court can compel an agency to act only if the action is discrete and required by law. 5 U.S.C. § 706(1); Norton v. S. Utah Wilderness Alliance, 542 U.S. 55, 64, 124 S.Ct. 2373, 159 L.Ed.2d 137 (2004). Consequently, unless a plaintiff identifies a “clear statutory duty” with which the agency must comply, áh agency’s “failure to act ... is not challengeable under the APA.” ONRC Action v. Bureau Land Mgmt., 150 F.3d 1132, 1140 (9th Cir.1998); Hells Canyon Preservation Council v. U.S. Forest Serv., 593 F.3d 923, 932 (9th Cir.2010) (the “ability to ‘compel agency action’ is carefully circumscribed to situations where an agency has ignored a specific legislative command”).

Under § 706(2) (A) of the APA, a reviewing court may set aside an agency action that is “‘arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with laty.’ Ctr. for Envtl. Law & Policy v. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, 655 F.3d 1000, 1005 (9th Cir.2011) (quoting 5 U.S.C, § 706(2)(A)). An agency decision is considered arbitrary and capricious “if the agency has relied on factors which Congress has not intended it to consider, entirely failed to consider an important aspect of the problem, offered an explanation for its decision that runs counter to the evidence before the agency, or is so implausible that it could not be ascribed to a difference in view or the product of agency expertise.” Motor Vehicle Mfrs. [1138]*1138Ass’n v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 463 U.S. 29, 43, 103 S.Ct. 2856, 77 L.Ed.2d 443 (1983). Review under the arbitrary and capricious standard is narrow, and courts give deference to an agency’s construction of a statutory provision it is charged with administering. American Fed’n of Gov’t Employees v. Fed. Labor Relations Auth., 204 F.3d 1272, 1274-75 (9th Cir.2000).

Notably,, a plaintiff must challenge a “final” agency action under § 706(2). Oregon Natural Desert Ass’n (ONDA) v. U.S. Forest Serv., 465 F.3d 977, 982 (9th Cir.2006). “For an agency action to be final, the action must (1) mark the consummation of the agency’s decision-making process and (2) be one by which rights or obligations have been determined, or from which legal consequences will flow.” Id. (internal quotation marks and citation omitted).

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Bluebook (online)
147 F. Supp. 3d 1132, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 158537, 2015 WL 7571814, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/western-radio-services-co-v-allen-ord-2015.