Me. Forest Prods. Council v. Cormier
| Decision Date | 18 February 2022 |
| Docket Number | 1:21-cv-00286-JAW |
| Parties | MAINE FOREST PRODUCTS COUNCIL, PEPIN LUMBER, INC., and STÉPHANE AUDET, Plaintiffs, v. PATTY CORMIER, in her official Capacity as DIRECTOR OF THE MAINE BUREAU OF FORESTRY, and AARON FREY, in his official capacity as ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR THE STATE OF MAINE, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Maine |
ORDER ON PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION
An employer, employee, and non-profit industry association seek a preliminary injunction against state of Maine officials to preclude the enforcement of a logging industry regulation arguing that it is preempted and violates the equal protection clauses of the United States and Maine constitutions. The Court concludes that the law is preempted by the Immigration and Nationality Act and accordingly enjoins enforcement of the law.
On October 7, 2021, Maine Forest Products Council, Pepin Lumber Inc., and Stéphane Audet (the Plaintiffs) filed a three-count complaint against Patty Cormier, in her official capacity as the Director of the Maine Bureau of Forestry, and Aaron Frey, in his official capacity as Attorney General for the state of Maine (the Defendants), alleging that Public Law Chapter 280 () (The Act or Public Law 280) violates (1) the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution, (2) the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution, and (3) the Equal Protection Clause of the Maine Constitution. Compl. (ECF No. 1). The same day, the Plaintiffs moved for a preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order (TRO). Pls.' Mot. for Prelim. Inj. and TRO (ECF No. 3) . Also on October 7, 2021, during a conference with counsel, the Court issued an oral order dismissing without prejudice the Plaintiffs' motion for a TRO on the parties' agreement that the Defendants would not enforce the provisions of the Act pending further order of the Court. Oral Orders (ECF Nos. 13 & 19). The parties thereafter agreed to proceed solely on the Plaintiffs' motion for preliminary injunction. Min. Entry (ECF No. 18). On November 1, 2021, the Defendants responded in opposition to the Plaintiffs' motion for preliminary injunction. Defs.' Opp'n to Pls.' Mot. for a Prelim. Inj. (ECF No. 23) (Defs.' Opp'n). On November 10, 2021, the Plaintiffs replied to the Defendants' opposition. Pls.' Reply Mem. in Support of Mot. for Prelim. Inj. (ECF No. 25) .
The Court recites the factual background from the Complaint and the Plaintiffs' and the Defendants' statements of fact, as well as their declarations.[1]
A. The Parties
Maine Forest Products Council (MFPC) is a non-profit industry association, incorporated in the state of Maine, organized to represent the interests of the forest products industry in Maine. Compl. at ¶ 1; Decl. of Patrick Strauch ¶ 3 (ECF No. 6) (Strauch Decl.) Its membership includes landowners, papermills, loggers, truckers, and other entities operating in the Maine forest products economy. Compl. ¶ 1; Strauch Decl. ¶ 3. Among MFPC's membership are landowners owning more than 50, 000 acres in Maine who frequently contract with independent logging companies to cut and haul logs point-to-point within the state of Maine. Compl. ¶ 2. MFPC provides a variety of services to its members including advocacy before the executive and legislative branches of state and federal government. Strauch Decl. ¶ 4.
Pepin Lumber, Inc. (Pepin Lumber) is a logging company incorporated in the state of Maine. Compl. ¶ 3. Its principal owner and president, Maurice Pepin, is a citizen of Canada and maintains his permanent residence in Québec. Id. Pepin Lumber provides logging services to landowners in Maine, including MFPC members. Id. Approximately 85% of Pepin Lumber's revenue comes from its hauling and transportation services, whereby the company supplies tractor trailers and drivers to haul logs cut on property within the state of Maine. Id.; Decl. of Cédric Pepin ¶ 6 (ECF No. 4) (Pepin Decl.). The other 15% of Pepin Lumber's business comes from road building services. Pepin Decl. ¶ 6. Pepin Lumber operates in Coburn Gore, Maine, a remote, unorganized township in the northwest part of the state on the border with Canada. Id. ¶ 5; Compl. ¶ 4. Because of Pepin Lumber's remote location, it has had difficulty both in the past and present finding United States workers and frequently sponsors visa applications for temporary foreign workers under the United States H-2A visa program created by the federal Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Compl. ¶ 4; Pepin Decl. ¶ 6.
Consistent with past years, a significant proportion of Pepin Lumber's current tractor trailer drivers includes temporary foreign workers lawfully admitted into the United States on H-2A visas for the purpose of operating tractor trailers in the logging industry. Compl. ¶ 4. On May 25, 2021, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) issued an “Approval of H-2A Temporary Labor Certification” allowing Pepin Lumber to hire up to thirteen temporary foreign workers to serve as log truck drivers from June 14, 2021, until April 13, 2022. Pepin Decl. ¶ 12. On June 1, 2021, Pepin Lumber petitioned the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to issue H-2A visas for the thirteen foreign workers Pepin Lumber intended to employ in its “Log Truck Driver Tractor Trailer” position. Id. ¶ 13. On July 9, 2021, USCIS issued a “Notice of Action” approving Pepin Lumber's petition for up to thirteen H-2A visas for this position. Id. ¶ 14. Pepin Lumber currently employs six Canadian citizens who are authorized to work on H-2A visas until April 13, 2022. Id. ¶¶ 15, 20.
Stéphane Audet is a Canadian citizen employed by Pepin Lumber as a tractor trailer driver. Compl. ¶ 5; Decl. of Stéphane Audet ¶ 3 (ECF No. 5) (Audet Decl.). The federal government granted Mr. Audet an H-2A visa and he entered the United States on July 12, 2021. Audet Decl. ¶ 8. Mr. Audet is lawfully authorized to reside and work in the United States as a tractor trailer operator for Pepin Lumber until April 2022. Id.; Compl. ¶ 5. More than 85% of Mr. Audet's job involves hauling logs point-to-point within the state of Maine. Audet Decl. ¶ 4. Mr. Audet has worked for Pepin Lumber as a truck driver on an H-2A visa for several years. Id. ¶ 10.
Patty Cormier serves as the Director of the Maine Bureau of Forestry within the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry, and is charged by Maine law with the authority to enforce the Act. Compl. ¶ 6. Aaron Frey is the Attorney General of the state of Maine and is also charged by Maine law with the authority to enforce the Act. Id. ¶ 7.
Without the Governor's signature, [2] on June 19, 2021, the state of Maine enacted Public Law 280 (introduced as L.D. 188), An Act Regarding the Transportation of Products in the Forest Products Industry. Compl., Attach. 1 at 2-3, An Act Regarding the Transportation of Products in the Forest Products Industry (P.L. 2021, ch. 208). The Act substantively changes Titles 10 and 12 of the Maine Revised Statutes, 10 M.R.S. § 2364-B and enacting 12 M.R.S. § 8006. See P.L. 2021, ch. 280, §§ 1-6. As both parties note, the amendments to Title 12 contain the substantive provisions of the Act, while the amendments to Title 10 aid in its enforcement. See Pls.' Mot. at 7; Defs.' Mot. at 1 n.1.
Section 8006, which is to be codified under Title 12 and contains the disputed portions of the law, governs intrastate transportation of forest products by nonresidents and creates two prohibitions in the transportation of forest products. P.L. 2021, ch. 280, § 6. First, the law prohibits landowners from hiring certain nonresidents for transporting forest products. The Act states in relevant part:
A landowner[3] may not hire, or contract with a person to hire, a motor carrier[4] to transport forest products[5] that are harvested from the landowner's land from a location in the State to another location in the State unless the motor carrier is operated by a resident of the United States.
Id. Similarly, the law prohibits non-resident motor carriers from transporting forest products:
A motor carrier may not transport forest products that are harvested from a landowner's land from a location in the State to another location in the State unless the motor carrier is operated by a resident of the United States.
Id. Relevant here, the Act expressly excludes from its definition of “resident of the United States” a person with an H-2A visa. Id. (“‘Resident of the United States' does not include a person eligible to be in the United States under the United States H-2A visa program”). The Act imposes on both landowners and motor carriers who violate the Act a $1, 000 fine for the first violation, $2, 500 for the second, and $10, 000 for the third and any subsequent violations. Id.
The Act further amends Title 10, Chapter 501, which governs “Weights and Measures.” See 10 M.R.S. § 2301 et. seq. As currently enacted, a person transporting wood is required to carry a “trip ticket” that provides information about the wood's landowner, place of origin, haul date, name of hauler, etc. 10 M.R.S. § 2364-B. The Act amends the trip ticket requirement to also mandate “the owner of the land from which the wood [is] harvested [to affirm] that the load of wood is being transported in a legal manner consistent with state law.” P.L. 2021, ch. 280, § 3. The Act further requires that the owner or manager of a log yard or mill site, in addition to the truck driver, be able to produce a copy of the trip ticket. Id. § 4.
On February 23, 2021,...
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