Lead Opinion
This disрute involves the rights of a local government, St. Charles County, Missouri (“County”), and the rights of a public utility, Laclede Gas Company (“Laclede”), in shared easements. The County takes the position that Laclede must alter or relo
This appeal stems from the district court’s
1. BACKGROUND
Laclede is a publicly regulated utility company that provides natural gas service throughout the St. Louis, Missouri, area. Using non-exclusive easements that it shares with the County, Laclede maintains gas lines alоng Pitman Hill Road (“PHR”) and Ehlmann Road (“ER”). In 2007, the County was planning projects along PHR and ER and asked Laclede to relocate its gas lines to accommodate the projects. Laclede responded that it was willing to do so if the County agreed to reimburse Lac-lede for the costs associated with relocating the lines.
In 2008, the County filed an action in state court seeking a declaratory judgment that it had no obligation to pay Laclede’s relocation costs along PHR. However, on August 30, 2011, the Missouri Supreme Court held that Laclede could not be compelled to relocate its lines without reimbursement from the County. St. Charles Cnty. v. Laclede Gas Co.,
On October 11, 2011, Laclede filed this case against the County and L.F. Krupp-Construction, Inc. (“L.F. Krupp”). L.F. Krupp was the County’s contractor on the road projects. In the complaint, Laclede alleged three claims against the County: a § 1983 claim, a nuisance claim, and a claim seeking declaratory judgment that the County’s attempted enforcement of Mo. Rev.Stat. § 229.360 would be unconstitutional. Laclede also alleged a negligence claim against L.F. Krupp. In response, the County and L.F. Krupp both filed motions to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. On December 6, 2011, Laclede filed a motion for preliminary injunction. That same day, the County filed a motion to stay any proceedings on the motion for preliminary injunction while the motions to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction were still pending.
On January 18, 2012, the County moved to supplement to its memorandum in support of its motion to dismiss. The supplement was a petition filed against Laclede in the 11th Judicial Circuit Court, in St. Charles County, Missouri (“ER Proceeding”). In the ER Proceeding, the County sought to compel Laclede to alter its facilities on ER that were in conflict with ongoing County projects.
On February 6, 2012, Laclede filed a motion for leave to file an amended complaint, seeking to add a claim against the County based on the Naturаl Gas Pipeline Safety Act (“PSA”), 49 U.S.C. §§ 60101-60137. Laclede attached a copy of the proposed amended complaint to the motion. On March 7, 2012, the district court granted Laclede’s motion to amend and the amended complaint was filed on that date.
On July 2, 2012, the district court entered an order granting, in part, Laclede’s motion for preliminary injunction. The order enjoins the County from (1) constructing any additional portion of retaining wall on top of gas lines on the Pitman easement; (2) removing, or hiring another entity — aside from Laclede — to remove any portion of the PHR gas lines located on the Pitman easement; and (3) removing any portion of the gas lines from the Ehl-mann Road easement. The order also directs the County to convey a substitute easement to Laclede to allow access to the gas main under Retaining Wall #3 on the Pitman Hill tract. In a footnote, the court acknowledged that the County’s motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction was still pending and stated that a subsequent ruling on the motion would issue in the near future.
On appeal, the County argues that the district court erred in issuing the preliminаry injunction without addressing the County’s motion to dismiss and, further, that the district court lacked subject matter jurisdiction. The County also argues the district court erred in issuing the preliminary injunction because erroneous conclusions of law and fact tainted its analysis under the factors set forth in Dataphase Sys., Inc. v. C L Sys., Inc.,
At oral argument, the County conceded that a 11th Judicial Circuit Court, in St. Charles County, Missouri, had recently ruled in favor of Laclede in the ER Proceeding. That decision was rendered during the first week of January 2013. As a defendаnt, Laclede obtained no injunctive relief as a result of that ruling, and save for the federal injunction, there is no ruling explicitly prohibiting the County from interfering with the gas lines that are the subject of this action.
II. DISCUSSION
We have reviewed the multitude of arguments advanced by the County for reversal of the preliminary injunction order. We are not persuaded by any of them. That said, there are two primary arguments that warrant further discussion.
A. Jurisdiction
Initially, the County asserts that the district court erred, and automatiс reversal is required, because the district did not rule on the County’s motion to dismiss on jurisdictional grounds. The County would have us adopt a categorical rule that when dealing with a preliminary injunction motion (and, presumably, a motion for a temporary restraining order) district courts must always rule upon an opposing party’s assertion that the court lacks jurisdiction. There is no precedent for such a proposition in this Circuit, although the Fifth Circuit may have adopted such a rule. See Enter. Int’l, Inc. v. Corporacion Estatal Petrolera Ecuatoriana,
We turn then to the County’s primary argument, that is, that the district court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to enter the preliminary injunction order. We review questions of subject matter jurisdiction de novo. Cmty. Fin. Grp., Inc. v. Republic of Kenya,
As discussed above, Laclede amended its complaint on March 7, 2012, to add a claim against the County based on the PSA. The PSA provides that “[a] рerson may bring a civil action in an appropriate district court of the United States for an injunction against another person ... for a violation of this chapter.” 49 U.S.C. § 60121(a)(1). Section 60123(b) states that “[a] person knowingly and willfully damaging or destroying an interstate gas pipeline facility ... that is used in interstate or foreign commerce or in any activity affecting interstate or foreign commerce, or attempting or conspiring to do such an act, shall be fined under title 18, imprisonеd for not more than 20 years, or both, and, if death results to any person, shall be imprisoned for any term of years or for life.” 49 U.S.C. § 60123(b). However, a PSA action cannot be filed until 60 days after proper notice is given to the Secretary of Transportation, or to the appropriate state agency, and to the person alleged to have committed the violation. See 49 U.S.C. § 60121(a)(1)-(2); see also Hallstrom v. Tillamook Cnty.,
In a letter dated January 4, 2012, Lac-lede gave notice to the Missouri Public Service Commission (“MPSC”)
The County argues that Laclede’s PSA claim is not properly before the court because Laclede did not comply with the PSA’s notice requirements before filing suit. More specifically, the County argues that Laclede’s amended complaint relates back to its original complaint under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(c), and therefore, violates the 60-day notice requirement. This argument lacks merit.
Wherе, as here, a PSA claim appears for the first time in an amended complaint, courts should look to the date of
In summary, there is nothing in the PSA, including the notice requirements, that bars amended complaints from stating a PSA claim.
The County also argues that the court lacks jurisdiction over Laclede’s PSA claim because it is really just a “quintessential state law claim” under Columbia Gas Transmission Corp. v. Drain,
We next examine the County’s argument that the district court should have abstained under the authority of Aaron v. Target Corp.,
After the examination suggested by Aaron, we conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion in proceeding despite the pending state ER Proceeding. Among other reasons, this is because (1) the state ER Proceeding, which is the predicate for the County’s abstention argument, was brought two months after this federal suit was commenced and much had already occurred in the federal litigation by that time; (2) in the prior state PHR proceeding, the Missouri Supreme Court addressed a nearly identical issue and had ruled in favor of Laclede, but the County was unwilling to follow the Missouri Supreme Court’s decision and instead commenced the state ER Proceeding (which it has now lost); (3) the injunctive relief sought by Laclede in federal court maintained the status quo and did not threaten to interfere with the state ER Proceeding; and (4) Laclede’s federal PSA claim, involving serious public safety issues, was not at issue in the state ER Proceeding. To sum up, the equitable relief sought by Laclede in this federal suit was not likely to interfere with the pending state ER Proceeding in a way that offends principles of comity and federalism.
Overall, because Laclede provided notice and more than 60 days passed before the amended complaint was filed, the PSA claim was properly beforе the district court and the district court had subject matter jurisdiction to issue a preliminary injunction.
B. Preliminary Injunction
In addition to its jurisdiction argument, the County argues, on the merits, that the district court erred in issuing the preliminary injunction order. We review the issuance of a preliminary injunction for an abuse of discretion, “which occurs when the district court rests its conclusion on clearly erroneous factual findings or erroneous legal conclusions.” S.J.W. ex rel. Wilson v. Lee’s Summit R-7 School Dist.,
We have reviewed the record and the parties’ arguments on the merits of the preliminary injunction order. We conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion in issuing the preliminary injunction and, in particular, we conclude that the judge properly balanced the four relevant factors. In short, we do not find any of the County’s arguments persuasive. The County’s “probability of success on the merits” and “public interest” arguments are the only ones that warrant slightly more discussion.
1. Probability of Success on the Merits
“In deciding whether to grant a preliminary injunction, ‘likelihood of success on the merits is most significant.’ ”
The County asserts that the district court failed to recognize the proper scope of the public’s rights in its own roads, and therefore, its analysis undеr Dataphase was tainted. In making this assertion, the County rehashes several of the arguments previously rejected by the Missouri Supreme Court’s opinion. The County persists in making these arguments even though it acknowledges that this court is bound by the Missouri Supreme Court’s interpretation of Missouri law. See Missouri v. City of Glasgow,
2. Public Interest
The district court also determined that the “public interest” factor weighed in favor of Laclede. In making this determination, the district court found that Lac-lede’s PHR and ER gas lines served numerous customers in the St. Charles area, a 200-foot retaining wall and six to eight feet of fill were directly over Laclede’s Pitman Hill easement, the County had proposed to construct two more retaining walls on the Pitman Hill eаsement, and the County was planning to remove gas lines along PHR and ER without Laclede’s assistance. Moreover, and very importantly, we agree that the removal of gas lines along PHR and ER without the assistance of Laclede, as proposed by the County, enhances the risk of a potential explosion or leak and endangers the public safety. Indeed, at oral argument, the County conceded that neither the County nor its contractor had any experience removing pipelines. In sum, these factual findings are not clearly erroneous.
III. CONCLUSION
To protect the public safety, and for other reasons, the district court stepped in when the County refused to adhere to the opinion of the Missouri Supreme Court in litigation it brought against Laclede. The district court had jurisdiction under the PSA, a federal statute that specifically authorized the district court to enjoin threats to damage pipelines. The issuance of a preliminary injunction in those circumstances was not error. Accordingly, the decision below is affirmed.
Notes
. The Honorable Henry E. Autrey, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri.
. Laclede was required to obtain leave of the court to file an amended complaint under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a)(2) because the time for filing an amendment as a
. The County does not dispute that the MPSC is the appropriatе state authority certified under section 60105 of the PSA.
. However, had the original complaint contained an imperfect PSA claim that failed to comply with the notice requirements, we doubt an amended complaint would cure the failure to give proper advance notice. See Hallstrom,
Concurrence Opinion
concurring.
Because I believe the district cоurt could properly have exercised jurisdiction under the Pipeline Safety Act (“PSA”), I concur in affirming its issuance of a preliminary injunction. I write separately, however, to underscore the procedural infirmity of the district court’s proceedings. Presented with several potential bases for subject matter jurisdiction and equally weighty arguments for a lack thereof, the district court circumvented the issue of jurisdiction entirely and proceeded directly to a considerаtion of the merits for injunctive relief. While I agree with the majority’s rejection of a categorical rule requiring district courts to rule on jurisdictional issues prior to considering motions for in-junctive relief, I find the district court’s shortcut in this case problematic.
Presumably, the district court expected that amongst the many proffered grounds for jurisdiction, one would likely prevail. As the majority concludes, this proved true; Laclede’s PSA claim would appear to provide a valid bаsis for subject matter jurisdiction. However, upon examining the district court’s order granting Lac-lede’s request for injunctive relief, I find no evidence to suggest the district court premised its injunction on that claim or, for that matter, even considered the PSA in weighing the Dataphase factors. Not only is there no mention of the PSA in the district court’s order, but the court’s discussion regarding Laclede’s probability of success on the merits revolves solely around Laclede’s takings claim — a claim which, by my estimation, is unripe. See Williamson Cnty. Reg’l Planning Comm’n v. Hamilton Bank,
As a general matter, the exercise of supplemental jurisdiction over an unripe claim is troublesome. A party should not be permitted to bypass mandatory procedurаl hurdles merely by offering a separate jurisdictional anchor whose requirements are more easily met. In this case, Laclede filed a complaint on October 11, 2011, setting forth various takings claims against the County. On October 18, 2011, the County filed a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction, arguing Laclede’s takings claims were unripe as Laclede had not yet sought and been denied just compensation for the relocation of its gas lines. Nearly four months later — in the absence of any jurisdictional ruling by the district court — Laclede sought leave to file an amended complaint, adding a claim under the PSA. At this point, the district court acknowledged the still pending jurisdictional challenge but moved forward with Laclede’s request for injunctive relief.
Two problems arise from the district court’s decision to bypass the County’s jurisdictional challenge and to nevertheless address Laclede’s takings claims: (1) the district court implicitly endorsed Laclede’s failure to exhaust avаilable state remedies for that claim, and (2) by focusing its analysis on the unripe takings claim, the district court failed to analyze the claim over which it could legitimately exercise jurisdiction, the PSA claim. Accordingly, the district court issued an injunction devoid of meaningful analysis of the claim we ought to review.
Despite significant concerns with respect to these errors, I believe remanding the case to the district court for reconsideration of Laclede’s request for injunctive relief based on the PSA claim rather than the takings claim would prove inefficient and, ultimately, redundant. The harms
For the foregoing reasons, I concur in the majority’s ultimate judgment but caution against continued tolerance of similar jurisdictional sidestepping by lower courts. The modest overlap in subject matter between Laclede’s takings claim and its PSA claim provided an avenue for affirmance on these facts, but it is the rare case in which an injunction inappropriately addressing one claim can be upheld on the basis of another.