National Bus. Aviation v. Naples Airport

• Decision Date: 08 August 2001
• Docket Number: No. 2:00-CV-572-FTM-29DNF.,2:00-CV-572-FTM-29DNF.
• Citation: 162 F.Supp.2d 1343
• Parties: NATIONAL BUSINESS AVIATION ASSOCIATION, INC. and General Aviation Manufacturers Association, Plaintiffs, v. CITY OF NAPLES AIRPORT AUTHORITY, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Middle District of Florida

162 F.Supp.2d 1343

NATIONAL BUSINESS AVIATION ASSOCIATION, INC. and General Aviation Manufacturers Association, Plaintiffs, v. CITY OF NAPLES AIRPORT AUTHORITY, Defendant.

No. 2:00-CV-572-FTM-29DNF.

United States District Court, M.D. Florida, Fort Myers Division.

August 8, 2001.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Theodore Lawton Tripp, Jr., Garvin & Tripp, Ft. Myers, FL, Frank Costello, Zuckerts, Scoutt & Rasenberger, LLP, Washington, DC, for Plaintiff.

David H. Quigley, Akin, Gump, Hauer & Feld, Washington, DC, Louis X. Amato, Naples, FL, for Defendant.

ORDER

PRESNELL, District Judge.

This cause came on for consideration after oral argument on cross-motions for summary judgment filed by the Plaintiffs (Doc. 32, filed June 18, 2001) and the Defendant (Doc. 38, filed June 18, 2001). Because they address similar issues — primarily pre-emption and alleged violations of the Commerce Clause — the Court will address both motions in a single order.

I. Factual Background

The Defendant, the Naples Aviation Authority ("the Authority") is an independent agency established by the Florida Legislature. The Authority operates the Naples Municipal Airport. The Plaintiffs — the National Business Aviation Association, Inc. and the General Aviation Manufacturers Association — are two trade groups representing members of the business aviation community and the aviation manufacturing community, respectively. For simplicity, the Court will refer to the Plaintiffs jointly by the acronym — "NBAA" — of the first-named plaintiff. At least one member of the NBAA operates an aircraft of the type at issue in this case (Stage 2¹) at the Naples Municipal Airport and several others provide services (fuel, repairs, and the like) for Stage 2 aircraft there. The instant suit is a response to the Authority's efforts to ban Stage 2 aircraft from operating at the Naples Municipal Airport.

Over the years, the Authority has implemented a variety of measures intended to reduce aircraft noise or its effects on Naples residents, including encouraging quieter operating procedures by jets landing at the airport, preferential use of runways to reduce flight operations over residents, and a ban on nighttime "runups" — racing of aircraft engines during maintenance and repair operations. Still, noise complaints persist around the Naples Municipal Airport.

In an effort to further reduce the noise associated with the airport, the Authority has opted to ban the remaining Stage 2 jet aircraft — i.e., those under 75,000 pounds — from operating at the Naples Municipal Airport as of August 30, 2001.² The Authority based this decision at least in part on concerns about noise impact on areas that experience an average of 60 to 65 decibels (dB) across the course of a day.³ For this and other reasons, the NBAA contends that the ban violates both the Supremacy Clause and the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution. Because the NBAA raises a federal question, this Court has jurisdiction over the dispute pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331.

II. Legal Standards

A. Summary Judgment

A party is entitled to summary judgment when "the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). The substantive law applicable to the case determines which facts are material. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).

Summary judgment should only be entered when the moving party has sustained its burden of showing the absence of a genuine issue as to any material fact when all the evidence is viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Sweat v. Miller Brewing Co., 708 F.2d 655 (11th Cir.1983). Summary judgment is mandated when a plaintiff "fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party's case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).

The burden on the non-moving party is not a heavy one; that party must simply show "specific facts, as opposed to general allegations, that present a genuine issue worthy of trial." 10A Charles Alan Wright, Arthur R. Miller & Mary Kay Kane, Federal Practice and Procedure (1998), § 2727 (citing cases). It is the obligation of the nonmoving party, however, not the Court, to scour the record in search of the evidence that would defeat a motion for summary judgment: Rule 56 "requires the nonmoving party to go beyond the pleadings and by his own affidavits, or by depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions of file, designate specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." Celotex, 477 U.S. at 324, 106 S.Ct. at 2553 (internal quotations and citation omitted). See also Street v. J.C. Bradford & Co., 886 F.2d 1472, 1479-80 (6th Cir.1989) ("The court no longer has the duty to search the entire record to establish that it is bereft of a genuine issue of material fact."). In considering a motion for summary judgment, the Court must construe all facts and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the non-moving party. HCA Health Serv. of Ga., Inc. v. Employers Health Ins. Co., 240 F.3d 982, 991 (11th Cir.2001).

In Earley v. Champion International Corp., 907 F.2d 1077 (11th Cir.1990), the court recognized that the summary judgment procedure "is properly regarded not as a disfavored procedural shortcut, but rather as an integral part of the Federal Rules as a whole, which are designed to `secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action.'" Id. at 1080 (citing Celotex, 477 U.S. at 327, 106 S.Ct. at 2554-55). The court further stated that if a plaintiff has failed to carry his burden of proof by offering evidence that is "merely colorable, or is not significantly probative, summary judgment may be granted." Id. at 1080-1081. In other words, to avoid summary judgment, the non-moving party must do more than "simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts." Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co., Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1356, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986).

B. Pre-emption

Article VI of the Constitution of the United States provides, in part, that "This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under Authority of the United States, shall be the Supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding." U.S. Const. art. VI, cl. 2. The Supremacy Clause, as it is popularly known, establishes that state law may not override or interfere with federal law — a premise that lies at the heart of pre-emption doctrine. Myrick v. Freuhauf Corp., 13 F.3d 1516, 1519 (11th Cir.1994), criticized on other grounds in Freightliner Corp. v. Myrick, 514 U.S. 280, 115 S.Ct. 1483, 131 L.Ed.2d 385 (1995). According to the Supreme Court, pre-emption may occur in one of three ways:

First, Congress can define explicitly the extent to which its enactments pre-empt state law.... Second, in the absence of explicit statutory language, state law is pre-empted where it regulates conduct in a field that Congress intended the Federal Government to occupy exclusively. Such an intent may be inferred from a "scheme of federal regulation ... so pervasive as to make reasonable the inference that Congress left no room for the States to supplement it" .... Finally, state law is pre-empted to the extent that it actually conflicts with federal law. Thus, the Court has found pre-emption where it is impossible for a private party to comply with both state and federal requirements.

Id. (quoting English v. General Elec. Co., 496 U.S. 72, 78-79, 110 S.Ct. 2270, 2275, 110 L.Ed.2d 65 (1990)). The two types of implied pre-emption referred to above are commonly referred to as "field pre-emption" and "conflict pre-emption," respectively. See Gade v. National Solid Wastes Mgmt. Ass'n, 505 U.S. 88, 98, 112 S.Ct. 2374, 2383, 120 L.Ed.2d 73 (1992). The existence of an express pre-emption clause does not necessarily preclude either type of implied pre-emption. Freightliner Corp. v. Myrick, 514 U.S. at 286-290, 115 S.Ct. 1483.

Congressional intent is the ultimate touchstone of pre-emption analysis. Cipollone v. Liggett Group, Inc., 505 U.S. 504, 516, 112 S.Ct. 2608, 2617, 120 L.Ed.2d 407 (1992). In considering whether pre-emption has occurred in a particular case, however, federalism concerns require a district court to proceed with caution so as to avoid unintended encroachment on the authority of the states. Thus, when a statute operates in an area traditionally governed by state law, pre-emption will not lie unless it is "the clear and manifest purpose of Congress." CSX Transp., Inc. v. Easterwood, 507 U.S. 658, 664, 113 S.Ct. 1732, 1737, 123 L.Ed.2d 387 (1993) (quoting Rice v. Santa Fe Elevator Corp., 331 U.S. 218, 230, 67 S.Ct. 1146, 1152, 91 L.Ed. 1447 (1947)).

C. The Dormant Commerce Clause

Article I, Section 8, clause 3 of the United States Constitution empowers Congress to "regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes". The Commerce Clause, as it is known, "has long been seen as a limitation on state regulatory powers, as well as an affirmative grant of Congressional authority." Fulton Corp. v. Faulkner, 516 U.S. 325, 330, 116 S.Ct. 848, 853, 133 L.Ed.2d 796 (1996). The negative or dormant implication of the Commerce Clause prohibits state taxation or regulation that discriminates against or unduly burdens interstate commerce. General Motors Corp. v. Tracy, 519 U.S. 278, 287, 117 S.Ct. 811, 818, 136 L.Ed.2d 761 (1997) (internal...