CALIFORNIA RESTAURANT ASS'N v. CITY OF BERKELEY

No. 21-16278.

65 F.4th 1045 (2023)

CALIFORNIA RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION, a California nonprofit mutual benefit corporation, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. CITY OF BERKELEY, Defendant-Appellee.

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.

Filed April 17, 2023.


Attorney(s) appearing for the Case

Brian C. Baran (argued), Courtland L. Reichman , Laura Carwile , and Ariel C. Green Anaba , Reichman Jorgensen Lehman & Feldberg LLP, Redwood Shores, California; Sarah Jorgensen , Reichman Jorgensen Lehman & Feldberg LLP, Atlanta, Georgia; Kylie Chiseul Kim , Kellogg Hansen Todd Figel & Frederick PLLC, Washington, D.C.; Gary J. Toman , Weinberg Wheeler Hudgins Gunn & Dial, Atlanta, Georgia; for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Anthony L. Francois (argued) and Peter S. Prows , Briscoe Ivester & Bazel LLP, San Francisco, California; Farima Faiz Brown and Brendan Darrow , Deputy City Attorneys; Office of the City Attorney; Berkeley, California; for Defendant-Appellee.

Thomas G. Pulham (argued), Michael S. Raab , and H. Thomas Byron III , Appellate Staff Attorneys; Stephanie Hinds , Acting United States Attorney; Brian M. Boynton , Acting Assistant Attorney General; United States Department of Justice; Washington, D.C.; Emily Hammond , Deputy General Counsel for Litigation Regulation and Enforcement; Samuel T. Walsh , General Counsel; Department of Energy; Washington, D.C.; for Amicus Curiae United States of America.

Michael L. Murray and Matthew J. Agen , American Gas Association, Washington, D.C., for Amicus Curiae American Gas Association.

Megan H. Berge , Baker Botts LLP, San Francisco, California; Francesca Eick , Baker Botts LLP, Austin, Texas; JoAnna Adkisson , Baker Botts LLP, Washington, D.C.; for Amici Curiae Air Conditioning Heating and Refrigeration Institute; California Building Industry Association, Hearth Patio & Barbecue Association; National Association of Home Builders, and National Association of Manufacturers.

Michael Burger , Jennifer Danis , and Amy E. Turner , Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, New York, New York, for Amici Curiae National League of Cities, League of California Cities, and California State Association of Counties.

Somerset Perry , M. Elaine Meckenstock , Jonathan A. Wiener , and Theodore A. McCombs , Deputy Attorneys General; Myung J. Park and David A. Zonana , Supervising Deputy Attorneys General; Robert W. Byrne and Edward H. Ochoa , Senior Assistant Attorneys General; Rob Bonta , Attorney General of California; Office of the California Attorney General; San Diego, California; for Amici Curiae the States of California, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Washington, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the District of Columbia, and the City of New York.

Regina J. Hsu , Earthjustice, San Francisco, California; Timothy R. Oberleiton , Earthjustice, Washington, D.C.; for Amici Curiae Climate Health Now and San Francisco Bay Physicians for Social Responsibility.

Daniel N. Carpenter-Gold , Cara A. Horowitz , and Julia E. Stein , UCLA Law School Frank G. Wells Environmental Law Clinic, Los Angeles, California, for Amici Curiae Energy and Environmental Law Professors.

Kimberly E. Leefatt , Natural Resources Defense Council, Santa Monica, California; Thomas Zimpleman , Natural Resources Defense Council, Washington, D.C.; for Amici Curiae Chef Christopher Galarza and Ched Gerard Kenny II.

Concurrence by Judge Baker.


OPINION

By completely prohibiting the installation of natural gas piping within newly constructed buildings, the City of Berkeley has waded into a domain preempted by Congress. The Energy Policy and Conservation Act ("EPCA"), 42 U.S.C. § 6297(c), expressly preempts State and local regulations concerning the...

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