Drakes Bay Oyster Company has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for a “writ of certiorari” or “judical review” to review the judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in its case.
This event was anticipated for some time. It’s the latest salvo in an effort to keep alive a regional treasure. An estimated forty percent of oysters harvested in California come from Drakes Bay.
Of its 30 longtime employees, (including Benjie Johnson, who passed away at the young age of 56) a number live at the site with their families. Drakes Bay’s farm is a major recreational and educational resource, drawing tens of thousands of visitors each year to learn about sustainable marine agriculture and sample rich nutritious marine products. The farm’s operations have been praised over the years for an ethic of environmental sensitivity and harmony.
At issue for Drakes Bay Oyster Company is former Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar’s denial of Drakes Bay’s permit to continue operating the 80-year-old oyster farm, even though the original deal for the creation of Point Reyes National Seashore—supported by the Park Service, the Sierra Club, the Environmental Action Committee of West Marin, and every other interested environmental and civic group—was that the oyster farm was always supposed to stay.
The Ninth Circuit held that a federal court does not have jurisdiction to review a discretionary agency decision for abuse of discretion. At stake is whether the government, in making countless everyday decisions, can be taken to court when it abuses its power.
“If this judgment is not overturned, government agencies will have the power to deny a permit to any individual or business for any reason, without judicial review,” said Kevin Lunny, owner of Drakes Bay Oyster Company. “Citizens must have recourse in the face of an arbitrary and capricious decision.”
The small, family-owned farm has been in a heated legal battle with federal regulators for its survival. Because Drakes Bay showed that there is a “reasonable probability” that the Supreme Court will take this case and a “significant possibility” that the oyster farm will win, the Ninth Circuit has allowed Drakes Bay to remain open while it takes its case to the Supreme Court.
One reason the Supreme Court might want to hear the case is to resolve fifteen circuit splits on three issues—that is, issues on which two or more circuits in the U.S. court of appeals system have given different interpretations of federal law. The splits in this case are on important issues: jurisdiction to review agency actions for abuse of discretion, applicability of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and prejudicial error under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). Read the Petition for Writ of Certiorari below.
Drakes Bay Oyster Company Et Al v Jewell Et Al Petition for Writ