Avera v. Airline Pilots Ass'n Int'l
| Decision Date | 09 August 2011 |
| Docket Number | D.C. Docket No. 4:09-cv-00218-RS-WCS,No. 10-14905,10-14905 |
| Parties | TROY G. AVERA, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. AIRLINE PILOTS ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL, AIRLINE PILOTS ASSOCIATION MASTER EXECUTIVE COUNCIL, UAL Corporation and United Airlines, Inc., Defendants-Appellees, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Intervenor-Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit |
[DO NOT PUBLISH]
Non-Argument Calendar
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of FloridaBefore EDMONDSON, MARCUS and KRAVITCH, Circuit Judges.
Proceeding pro se, Troy G. Avera sued the Airline Pilots Association, International, and the United Airlines Master Executive Council (collectively, "ALPA") for violations of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 ("ADEA"), 29 U.S.C. § 621; the Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA"), 29 U.S.C. § 1101; and for breach of the duty of fair representation under the Railway Labor Act, 45 U.S.C. § 151, et seq. Avera also petitioned for a declaratory judgment that the Fair Treatment of Experienced Pilots Act ("FTEPA"), 49 U.S.C. § 44729, and the Federal Aviation Administration's ("FAA") "Age 60 Rule," 14 C.F.R. § 121.383, were unconstitutional. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2403(a), the United States intervened to defend the constitutionality of the FTEPA. The district court dismissed the ADEA, ERISA, and constitutional claims for failure to state a claim and dismissed the Railway Labor Act claim as barred by the statute of limitations.
On appeal, Avera argues that the district court erred by dismissing his complaint because (1) the FTEPA is unconstitutional and could not shield ALPA from liability on his claims, (2) he stated a claim for violations of the ADEA, ERISA, and the Railway Labor Act, and (3) his claims under the Railway Labor Act weretimely under the delayed-discovery doctrine. Avera also appeals the district court's dismissal of his challenge to the Age 60 Rule, but the government argues that the district court lacked jurisdiction over this claim. After thorough review, we agree with the government, and affirm in large part, but reverse and remand the district court's ruling on the Age 60 Rule.
"The issue of whether the district court had subject matter jurisdiction over [the] complaint is a question of law subject to de novo review." Tamiami Partners, Ltd. ex rel. Tamiami Dev. Corp. v. Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Fla., 177 F.3d 1212, 1222 (11th Cir. 1999). "The constitutionality of a statute is a question of law subject to de novo review." Cooper v. Dillon, 403 F.3d 1208, 1213 (11th Cir. 2005) (quotation omitted). "A district court's dismissal for failure to state a claim under Rule 12(b)(6) is reviewed de novo." Albra v. Advan, Inc., 490 F.3d 826, 829 (11th Cir. 2007).
As an initial matter, the United States argues that the district court lacked jurisdiction over Avera's challenge to the Age 60 Rule. We have a special obligation to satisfy ourselves not only that we have jurisdiction over this appeal, but also that the district court had jurisdiction over the various counts of the complaint. TamiamiPartners, 177 F.3d at 1221. "When the lower federal court lacks jurisdiction, we have jurisdiction on appeal, not of the merits but merely for the purpose of correcting the error of the lower court in entertaining the suit." Id. (alterations and quotation omitted).
Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 46110(a):
a person disclosing a substantial interest in an order issued by the Secretary of Transportation (or . . . the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration with respect to aviation duties and powers designated to be carried out by the Administrator) in whole or in part under this part [pertaining to air commerce and safety], [or] part B [] . . . may apply for review of the order by filing a petition for review in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit or in the court of appeals of the United States for the circuit in which the person resides or has its principal place of business. The petition must be filed not later than 60 days after the order is issued. The court may allow the petition to be filed after the 60th day only if there are reasonable grounds for not filing by the 60th day.
49 U.S.C. § 46110(a); see also George Kabeller, Inc. v. Busey, 999 F.2d 1417, 1422 (11th Cir. 1993). "[T]he court has exclusive jurisdiction to affirm, amend, modify, or set aside any part of the order and may order the Secretary, Under Secretary, or Administrator to conduct further proceedings." 49 U.S.C. § 46110(c). The term "order" in the statute "has been given expansive instruction." Green v. Brantley, 981 F.2d 514, 519 (11th Cir. 1993) (quotation omitted). Although the issue has not arisen in this Court, the D.C. Circuit has stated that the statute could encompass "directreview of regulations promulgated through informal notice-and-comment rulemaking." City of Rochester v. Bond, 603 F.2d 927, 933 n.26 (D.C. Cir. 1979). "Where Congress has provided in the courts of appeals an exclusive forum for the correction of procedural and substantive administrative errors, a plaintiff may not bypass that forum by suing for damages in district court." Brantley, 981 F.2d at 521. Stated differently, the district court lacks subject matter jurisdiction to consider "an impermissible collateral challenge to [an] agency order." Id.
The FAA is charged with "promot[ing] safe flight of civil aircraft in air commerce by prescribing . . . regulations in the interest of safety for the maximum hours or periods of service of airmen and other employees of air carriers." 49 U.S.C. § 44701(a)(4). The FAA promulgated the Age 60 Rule in 1959 pursuant to this mandate. The Rule provided that no pilot may serve as a pilot in operations of a commercial aircraft if that person has reached his 60th birthday. 14 C.F.R. § 121.383(c) (2007).
In count four of the amended complaint, Avera sought a declaration that both the FTEPA and the Age 60 Rule were unconstitutional both facially and as applied to him. But as described above, only the court of appeals has exclusive jurisdiction to review a final order of the FAA. Avera may not bypass our exclusive jurisdiction by pursuing in the district court a collateral attack on the FAA's orders. See Brantley,981 F.2d at 521. Accordingly, we remand with instructions to vacate the district court's order in part and to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction Avera's constitutional challenges to the Age 60 Rule. See Tamiami, 177 F.3d at 1221.
Next, we reject Avera's claims that the FTEPA violates the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fifth Amendment, violates the prohibition against bills of attainder, and effects an unconstitutional taking without compensation. Prior to enactment of the FTEPA, the Age 60 Rule provided that no person could fly a commercial aircraft after his 60th birthday. 14 C.F.R. § 121.383(c) (2007). However, section (d) of the FTEPA expressly states that, after its enactment, the Age 60 Rule "shall cease to be effective." 49 U.S.C. § 44729(d). Instead, the FTEPA provides that "a pilot may serve in multicrew covered operations until attaining 65 years of age." 49 U.S.C. § 44729(a). On appeal, Avera challenges two specific provisions of the FTEPA: the non-retroactivity clause and protection-for-compliance clause. The FTEPA's non-retroactivity provision provides:
49 U.S.C. § 44729(e)(1). The FTEPA also includes a protection-for-compliance provision, which provides:
An action taken in conformance with this section, taken in conformance with a regulation issued to carry out this section, or taken prior to the date of enactment of this section in conformance with [the Age 60 Rule] (as in effect before such date of enactment), may not serve as a basis for liability or relief in a proceeding, brought under any employment law or regulation, before any court or agency of the United States or of any State or locality.
49 U.S.C. § 44729(e)(2).
There is no merit to Avera's claim that the FTEPA violates the Equal Protection Clause by targeting "a small ascertainable class" of pilots born between 1942 and 1947 and extinguishing that small group's "property rights (work, employment, and contract rights), while affording every other person in every other profession . . . the protections of the ADEA." The Equal Protection Clause requires the government to treat similarly situated persons in a similar manner. Gary v. City of Warner Robins, 311 F.3d 1334, 1337 (11th Cir. 2002). "When legislation classifies persons in such a way that they receive different treatment under the law, the degree of scrutiny the court applies depends upon the basis for the classification."Id. If a law treats individuals differently on the basis of race or another suspect classification, or if the law impinges on a fundamental right, it is subject to strict scrutiny. Eide v. Sarasota County, 908 F.2d 716, 722 (11th Cir. 1990). Otherwise, the law need only have a rational basis -- i.e., it need only be rationally related to a legitimate government purpose. Id.
Although classifications based on race or gender receive strict scrutiny, "[a]ge classifications . . . cannot be characterized as 'so seldom relevant to the achievement of any legitimate state interest that laws grounded in such...
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