ATA appeal over SoCal truck plan injunction in court’s hand

ATA appeal over SoCal truck plan injunction in courtÆs hand

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   A U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision regarding an injunction against the Southern California ports' truck plan could come at any minute, after both sides in the contentious legal battle filed briefs with the court on Wednesday.
   The two sides in the case reiterated the points of their arguments made in U.S. District Court last week that led to the lower court decision against the American Trucking Associations.
   ATA had asked the lower court to enjoin portions of a Long Beach and Los Angeles ports' trucking plan that the trade group claims is attempting to re-regulate the Southern California drayage industry in violation of federal interstate commerce laws.
   The ports, which have said they remain committed to the plans' start up date of Oct. 1, argue that the plan is needed to cut pollution generated by the fleet of nearly 17,000 privately owned trucks that service terminals at the two ports.
   In the appeal before the Ninth Circuit Court, the ATA is asking the appellate court to overturn the lower court decision and either issue an emergency injunction on an access licensing portion of the plan or order an expedited full appeals hearing that assures a judgment by Sept. 30.
   Meanwhile, on Tuesday the National Industrial Transportation League Tuesday threw its support behind ATA's legal efforts to block portions of the Southern California ports' truck re-regulation plan.
   The trade association, which represents more than 700 firms involved in goods movement, asked the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to allow the trade group to join in support of an ATA appeal before the court as an amicus curiae, or 'friend of the court.'
   ATA filed the appeal Friday of a U.S. District Court Sept. 10 ruling that denied the trucking group's request for an injunction against the ports' truck plan. On Monday, ATA also filed an emergency motion with the Ninth Circuit Court to obtain an expedited hearing before an appellate panel and an emergency injunction against the ports.
   While neither the NIT League nor ATA are opposed to the $35-per-TEU tax and truck ban portions of the truck plan, according to its filing, the NIT League supports the ATA position that the access licenses, called concession agreements by the ports, violate federal interstate commerce laws.
   NIT League in its filing said the plan 'would severely restrict drayage capacity at the ports, leading to operational turmoil, costly delays, and other significant disruptions to their supply chains.' These disruptions could result in 'major financial costs' to its members, 'considerable harm to the good will that NIT League members have developed with their suppliers and customers,' and low supply chain inventories which may impact the national economy as a whole.
   'Additionally, the NIT League's shipper members are extremely concerned about the possibility of other ports imposing similar restrictive economic regulatory schemes on their drayage service providers, leading to a domino effect of possible reduced truck capacity and rapidly spiraling costs to shippers at major ports nationwide.'
   NIT League filed the amicus motion after Long Beach and Los Angeles officials refused to give their consent to allow the trade group to join ATA's emergency motion request before the Ninth Circuit. ' Keith Higginbotham