Thursday, May 28, 2009

Eleventh Circuit on Remand to Agency

In World Fuel Corp. v. Geithner (08-13111), the Eleventh Circuit dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. The court summarized the standard of review when a district court remands to an agency and stated:

Before we can review the Remand Order, we must determine whether we have jurisdiction to do so. “Under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 (1994), 4 our jurisdiction is limited to final decisions of the district courts.” In re Grand Jury Proceedings, 142 F.3d 1416, 1420 n.9 (11th Cir. 1998). “A final order is one that ‘ends the litigation on the merits and leaves nothing for the court to do but execute its judgment.’” Crawford & Co. v. Apfel, 235 F.3d 1298, 1302 (11th Cir. 2000) (quoting Huie v. Bowen, 788 F.2d 698, 701 (11th Cir. 1986)). “As a general rule, remand orders from district courts to administrative agencies are not final and appealable.” MCI Telecomm. Corp. v. BellSouth Telecomm. Inc., 298 F.3d 1269, 1271 (11th Cir. 2002). There is an important distinction, however, between situations where a district court orders the agency to “proceed under a certain legal standard,” and situations where a district court remands for further consideration of evidence. Id. “A remand order generally is found appealable in the former cases because the agency, forced to conform its decision to the district court’s mandate, cannot
appeal its own subsequent order.” Id.

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