Summary
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit dismissed ModernWest Longmont, LLC’s petition for review of FAA communications concerning the compatibility of proposed housing developments near Vance Brand Airport with federal grant assurances. The court held that ModernWest failed to show that vacating or withdrawing the FAA’s letters would likely cause the City of Longmont to approve the development, and therefore failed to establish redressability and standing. The court also dismissed the petition because ModernWest did not adequately argue or support standing in its opening brief as required by D.C. Circuit Rule 28(a)(7).
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether ModernWest established standing to challenge the FAA's letters when approval of the proposed developments depended on the independent decisions of the City of Longmont and other considerations.
- Whether ModernWest's failure to argue standing and identify supporting evidence in its opening brief required dismissal under D.C. Circuit Rule 28(a)(7).
Holdings
- ModernWest lacked Article III standing because it failed to show that vacating and withdrawing the FAA's letters would likely cause the City to approve the proposed developments. The requested relief would not alter the City's continuing legal obligations under Grant Assurance 21, and the City had independent reasons for rejecting the proposal.
- ModernWest's failure to argue standing and cite record evidence supporting standing in its opening brief independently required dismissal of the petition under D.C. Circuit Rule 28(a)(7).
Key quotations
“ModernWest has not satisfied its burden to show that the likely result of ordering FAA to vacate and withdraw its letters would be the City changing its mind and approving the proposed developments.” (10)
“At most, withdrawing the letters might give ModernWest “better odds” of a favorable outcome.” (14)
“For the reasons stated above, ModernWest’s petition for review is dismissed for lack of standing.” (16)
Factual background
ModernWest proposed two mixed-use developments near Longmont, Colorado's Vance Brand Airport. Although the FAA issued Determinations of No Hazard, it later advised the City that the developments were incompatible with Grant Assurance 21 and could jeopardize federal airport funding. The City ultimately rejected ModernWest 2 based on the FAA's position, state grant-assurance concerns, independent land-use incompatibility findings, and public-hearing concerns, while ModernWest 1 had not received final approval. ModernWest sought withdrawal of the FAA letters, asserting that doing so would cause the City to approve the developments.
Procedural history
ModernWest sought approval from the City of Longmont for mixed-use developments near Vance Brand Airport. After the FAA sent letters advising the City that the proposed developments were incompatible with Grant Assurance 21, the City effectively denied the proposal. ModernWest petitioned the D.C. Circuit for review and sought vacatur and withdrawal of the FAA letters so that the City could reconsider the development. The court dismissed the petition for lack of standing and for failure to comply with Circuit Rule 28(a)(7).