SoCal ports seek time in truck program appeal, ATA opposed

SoCal ports seek time in truck program appeal, ATA opposed The ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles on Friday asked the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for an extension to file arguments in a suit over the ports' trucking re-regulation program that began Oct. 1.
   The ports have asked for a 21-day extension beyond the Nov. 5 deadline set by the court last month and an expansion of the court-permitted size of their filing. In the same filing, the ports also informed the court they would be filing a joint argument.
   The ports did not specify why the additional time was requested and neither has issued a statement on the Ninth Circuit request.
   The lead plaintiffs in the case, the American Trucking Associations, asked the court Wednesday to reject the extension.
   In September, ATA sued the ports over the truck program in U.S. District Court and separately asked the court to issue an injunction preventing the ports from implementing the truck program on Oct. 1. The court rejected the injunction request and ATA immediately filed an appeal with the Ninth Circuit court, requesting an emergency injunction and/or an expedited hearing on the appeal of the lower court decision. The appellate panel rejected ATA's request for both the emergency injunction and an expedited schedule, deciding that the appeal should proceed on a regular time frame.