Friends of the East Hampton Airport, Inc. v. Town of East Hampton
2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 19909
| 2d Cir. | 2016Background
- The Town of East Hampton owns and operates East Hampton Airport, a public regional general-aviation facility that experienced significant seasonal noise complaints, particularly from helicopter operations.
- In April 2015 the Town enacted three local laws: (1) a mandatory nighttime curfew, (2) an extended curfew for defined “Noisy Aircraft,” and (3) a two-operations-per-week limit on noisy aircraft ("One-Trip Limit").
- The Town enacted these measures without following the procedural requirements of the Airport Noise and Capacity Act (ANCA), 49 U.S.C. § 47524 (notice, cost-benefit analysis, FAA or operator approval for certain stages), and relied on FAA statements implying grant-related obligations might not be enforced after 2014.
- Aviation businesses and trade groups sued seeking declaratory and injunctive relief, arguing the Local Laws are preempted by federal aviation law (ANCA/ADA/AAIA) and therefore unenforceable; plaintiffs moved for a preliminary injunction.
- The district court enjoined only the One-Trip Limit as an unreasonable exercise of the Town’s proprietary authority under the Airline Deregulation Act (ADA) but declined to enjoin the curfew provisions; both sides appealed.
- The Second Circuit held plaintiffs may invoke equity jurisdiction and ruled ANCA’s procedural requirements apply to all public airport proprietors regardless of federal funding eligibility; because the Town conceded noncompliance, all three Local Laws are federally preempted and a preliminary injunction should issue.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether federal courts have equity jurisdiction to enjoin municipally enacted airport restrictions alleged to violate ANCA | Plaintiffs: Ex parte Young allows pre-enforcement equitable relief to bar locally enacted laws that conflict with federal aviation statutes | Town: ANCA (or its enforcement scheme) implicitly forecloses private equitable suits; remedies are limited to administrative funding consequences | Held: Equity jurisdiction exists; Ex parte Young applies and ANCA does not implicitly bar private equitable challenges. |
| Whether ANCA’s procedural requirements (49 U.S.C. § 47524) apply only to airports receiving federal funds or to all public airport proprietors | Plaintiffs: § 47524’s mandatory "only if" language, context, findings, history, and FAA regs mandate procedures for all public airports irrespective of grant status | Town: Procedures are tied to grant/funding consequences; disavowal of future funding obviates ANCA requirements | Held: § 47524 applies to all public airport proprietors regardless of funding eligibility; funding consequences are not the exclusive remedy. |
| Whether local laws enacted in violation of ANCA can fall within the ADA proprietor exception to preemption | Plaintiffs: Noncompliance with ANCA precludes claiming the ADA proprietor exception; such laws are preempted | Town: Even if ANCA procedures weren’t followed, proprietor exception allows reasonable, nondiscriminatory local rules; disavowal of funding suffices | Held: Failure to follow ANCA procedures means the Local Laws cannot claim the proprietor exception and thus are preempted. |
| Relief: scope of preliminary injunction | Plaintiffs: Injunction barring enforcement of all three Local Laws | Town: Only One-Trip Limit was properly enjoined by district court; curfews are reasonable proprietary acts | Held: Affirmed injunction as to One-Trip Limit; vacated denial re: curfews; remanded to enter preliminary injunction barring enforcement of all three laws. |
Key Cases Cited
- City of Burbank v. Lockheed Air Terminal, Inc., 411 U.S. 624 (1973) (recognized federal preemption of local noise regulation under federal aviation scheme).
- British Airways Bd. v. Port Auth. of N.Y. & N.J. (Concorde I), 558 F.2d 75 (2d Cir. 1977) (municipal proprietor may adopt reasonable, nonarbitrary, nondiscriminatory regulations on airport noise).
- British Airways Bd. v. Port Auth. of N.Y. & N.J. (Concorde II), 564 F.2d 1002 (2d Cir. 1977) (discussing limits of proprietor authority under federal aviation law).
- Armstrong v. Exceptional Child Ctr., Inc., 135 S. Ct. 1378 (2015) (equitable relief availability may be foreclosed where statute indicates exclusive administrative remedy and enforcement is judicially unadministrable).
- National Helicopter Corp. of Am. v. City of New York, 137 F.3d 81 (2d Cir. 1998) (applied proprietor exception in context of heliport restrictions; did not resolve whether ANCA procedures limit proprietor exception).