Pen American Center, Inc. v. Trump
- Lorna Schofield
- 1:18-cv-09433
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 8
In Pen American Center v. Trump, Judge Schofield granted certification for an interlocutory appeal and stayed discovery over a presidential-relief question.
Pen American Center, Inc. and Donald J. Trump; the ruling paused discovery and permitted certification of one legal question for possible interlocutory appeal, but the Second Circuit still had to grant permission for the appeal.
What happened
Pen American Center, Inc. v. Trump concerned the defendant’s request to appeal part of an earlier order before the case ended. That earlier order had granted in part and denied in part the defendant’s motion to dismiss.
The defendant asked the court to certify four legal questions for immediate appeal, including whether declaratory relief could be issued against a sitting President for discretionary official conduct. He also asked the court to pause discovery while the appeal request and any resulting appeal were considered.
Judge Lorna G. Schofield granted the motion for interlocutory appeal and the stay of discovery. The court certified only the question concerning declaratory relief against a sitting President for discretionary official conduct, and discovery was stayed pending the appeal proceedings.
The detailed version
- Pen American Center, Inc. v. Trump · No. 1:18-cv-09433
- Lorna Schofield
- Oct. 1, 2020
Background
In a March 24, 2020, order, the court granted in part and denied in part Donald J. Trump’s motion to dismiss. The remaining case involved allegations concerning access to the White House press corps and the revocation of security clearances. The court had determined that the alleged actions were discretionary and that constitutional considerations barred injunctive relief, but that declaratory relief against the President was possible.
Trump moved to certify the earlier order for an interlocutory appeal. An interlocutory appeal is an appeal before the district court has entered a final judgment. He also asked the court to stay, or pause, discovery while the Second Circuit considered his request for permission to appeal and, if permission were granted, while the appeal proceeded. Discovery had already been paused while the court considered this motion.
Ruling
The court granted the motion for an interlocutory appeal and granted the requested stay of discovery. The court explained that the relevant statute permits certification when a non-final order involves a controlling legal question, there is substantial disagreement about that question, and an immediate appeal may materially advance the end of the litigation.
The court certified one controlling question: whether declaratory relief can be issued against a sitting President in his official capacity for discretionary conduct. The court concluded that resolving this question could end the litigation, because a ruling for Trump could eliminate the requested relief. It also found substantial grounds for disagreement because the issue was a difficult question of first impression in the Second Circuit. The court noted that existing decisions had not resolved whether declaratory relief was proper against a President for official discretionary acts.
The court did not certify the other three proposed questions. Those questions concerned whether generalized allegations of a chilling effect supported standing and whether the complaint adequately alleged First Amendment violations based on White House press-access restrictions and security-clearance revocations. The opinion states that these remaining questions did not merit interlocutory appeal.
Discovery Stay and Next Steps
The court found good cause to stay discovery because the discovery could involve significant constitutional issues and might be narrowed or become unnecessary depending on the appeal. Discovery therefore remained stayed pending resolution of Trump’s petition for an interlocutory appeal and any appellate proceedings. The court amended the March 24 order to include the certification and directed Trump to apply to the Second Circuit for permission to proceed with the appeal within ten days. The Clerk was directed to close the motion docket entry.
Read the full 8-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.