UTAH v. SU

No. 23-11097.

109 F.4th 313 (2024)

State of UTAH; State of Texas; Commonwealth of Virginia; State of Louisiana; State of Alabama; State of Alaska; State of Arkansas; State of Florida; State of Georgia; State of Indiana; State of Idaho; State of Iowa; State of Kansas; Commonwealth of Kentucky; State of Mississippi; State of Missouri; State of Montana; State of Nebraska; State of New Hampshire; State of North Dakota; State of Ohio; State of South Carolina; State of Tennessee; State of West Virginia; State of Wyoming; Liberty Energy, Incorporated; Liberty Oilfield Services, L.L.C.; Western Energy Alliance; James R. Copland; Alex L. Fairly; State of Oklahoma, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Julie A. SU, Acting Secretary, U.S. Department of Labor; United States Department of Labor, Defendants-Appellees.

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

FILED July 18, 2024.


Attorney(s) appearing for the Case

Stanford E. Purser, Deputy Solicitor, Office of the Attorney General, for the State of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, Franklin Scott Flow, Flow Law Firm, P.L.L.C., Amarillo, TX, Brunn W. Roysden, III, Fusion Law, P.L.L.C., Phoenix, AZ, Eric Harris Wessan, Iowa Department a Justice, Solicitor General, Des Moines, IA, for Plaintiff-Appellant State of Utah.

Monroe David Bryant, Jr., Zachary Berg, Office of the Attorney General of Texas, Special Litigation Division, Austin, TX, for Plaintiff-Appellant State of Texas.

Kevin Michael Gallagher, Office of the Attorney General, Solicitor General Division, Richmond, VA, Franklin Scott Flow, Flow Law Firm, P.L.L.C., Amarillo, TX, for Plaintiff-Appellant Commonwealth of Virginia.

Jorge Benjamin Aguinaga, Louisiana Department of Justice, Baton Rouge, LA, Morgan Brungard, Tracy Short, Office of the Attorney General, for the State of Louisiana, Baton Rouge, LA, Zachary Faircloth, Louisiana Department of Justice, Federalism Division, Baton Rouge, LA, Franklin Scott Flow, Flow Law Firm, P.L.L.C., Amarillo, TX, for Plaintiff-Appellant State of Louisiana.

Edmund Gerard LaCour, Jr., Office of the Attorney General, for the State of Alabama, Montgomery, AL, Franklin Scott Flow, Flow Law Firm, P.L.L.C., Amarillo, TX, for Plaintiff-Appellant State of Alabama.

Benjamin J. Hofmeister, Office of the Attorney General, Juneau, AK, Franklin Scott Flow, Flow Law Firm, P.L.L.C., Amarillo, TX, for Plaintiff-Appellant State of Alaska.

Gabriel Krimm, Office of the Attorney General, for the State of Tennessee, Nashville, TN, for Plaintiff-Appellant State of Tennessee.

Dylan L. Jacobs, Office of the Attorney General, for the State of Arkansas, Little Rock, AR, Franklin Scott Flow, Flow Law Firm, P.L.L.C., Amarillo, TX, for Plaintiff-Appellant State of Arkansas.

Henry Charles Whitaker, Office of the Attorney General, for the State of Florida, Tallahassee, FL, Franklin Scott Flow, Flow Law Firm, P.L.L.C., Amarillo, TX, for Plaintiff-Appellant State of Florida.

Stephen John Petrany, Georgia Department of Law, Atlanta, GA, Franklin Scott Flow, Flow Law Firm, P.L.L.C., Amarillo, TX, for Plaintiff-Appellant State of Georgia.

James A. Barta, Office of the Attorney General, for the State of Indiana, Indianapolis, IN, Franklin Scott Flow, Flow Law Firm, P.L.L.C., Amarillo, TX, for Plaintiff-Appellant State of Indiana.

Joshua N. Turner, Idaho Office of the Attorney General, Office of the Solicitor General, Franklin Scott Flow, Flow Law Firm, P.L.L.C., Amarillo, TX, for Plaintiff-Appellant State of Idaho.

Eric Harris Wessan, Iowa Department of Justice, Solicitor General, Des Moines, IA, Franklin Scott Flow, Flow Law Firm, P.L.L.C., Amarillo, TX, for Plaintiff-Appellant State of Iowa.

Anthony J. Powell, Office of the Attorney General, for the State of Kansas, Franklin Scott Flow, Flow Law Firm, P.L.L.C., Amarillo, TX, for Plaintiff-Appellant State-of Kansas.

Matthew F. Kuhn, Office of the Attorney General, Office of the Solicitor General, Frankfort, KY, Franklin Scott Flow, Flow Law Finn, P.L.L.C., Amarillo, TX, for Plaintiff-Appellant Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Justin Lee Matheny, Esq., Mississippi Attorney General's Office, Jackson, MS, Franklin Scott Flow, Flow Law Firm, P.L.L.C., Amarillo, TX, for Plaintiff-Appellant State of Mississippi.

Joshua M. Divine, Solicitor, Office of The Missouri Attorney General, Jefferson City, MO, Franklin Scott Flow, Flow Law Firm, P.L.L.C., Amarillo, TX, for Plaintiff-Appellant State of Missouri.

Christian Brian Corrigan, Montana Attorney General's Office, Montana Department of Justice, Helena, MT, Franklin Scott Flow, Flow Law Firm, P.L.L.C., Amarillo, TX, for Plaintiff-Appellant State of Montana.

Eric J. Hamilton, Office of the Attorney General, for the State of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, Franklin Scott Flow, Flow Law Firm, P.L.L.C., Amarillo, TX, for Plaintiff-Appellant State of Nebraska.

Mark W. Dell'Orfano, New Hampshire Department of Justice, Concord, NH, Franklin Scott Flow, Flow Law Firm, P.L.L.C., Amarillo, TX, for Plaintiff-Appellant State of New Hampshire.

Philip Jordan Axt, Solicitor General, North Dakota Office of the Attorney General, Bismarck, ND, Franklin Scott Flow, Flow Law Firm, P.L.L.C., Amarillo, TX, for Plaintiff-Appellant State of North Dakota.

Thomas Elliot Gaiser, Esq., Mathura Sridharan, Office of the Attorney General, for the State of Ohio, Columbus, OH, Franklin Scott Flow, Flow Law Firm, P.L.L.C., Amarillo, TX, for Plaintiff-Appellant State of Ohio.

Thomas T. Hydrick, Office of the Attorney General, for the State of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, Franklin Scott Flow, Flow Law Firm, P.L.L.C., Amarillo, TX, for Plaintiff-Appellant State of South Carolina.

Michael Ray Williams, Office of the Attorney General, for the State of West Virginia, Charleston, WV, Franklin Scott Flow, Flow Law Firm, P.L.L.C., Amarillo, TX, for Plaintiff-Appellant State of West Virginia.

Ryan Schelhaas, Wyoming Attorney Genefal's Office, Cheyenne, WY, Franklin Scott Flow, Flow Law Firm, P.L.L.C., Amarillo, TX, for Plaintiff-Appellant State of Wyoming.

Jonathan Berry (argued), Jared Kelson, Andrew Wade Smith, Boyden Gray, P.L.L.C., Washington, DC, Franklin Scott Flow, Flow Law Firm, P.L.L.C., Amarillo, TX, for Plaintiffs-Appellants Liberty Energy, Incorporated, Liberty Oilfield Services, L.L.C., Western Energy Alliance.

Neville Hedley, Anna St. John, Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute, Washington, DC, Franklin Scott Flow, Flow Law Firm, P.L.L.C., Amarillo, TX, for Plaintiffs-Appellants James R. Copland, Alex L. Fairly.

Garry M. Gaskins, II, Esq., Oklahoma Attorney General, for the State of Oklahoma — Solicitor General Unit, Oklahoma City, OK, Franklin Scott Flow, Flow Law Firm, P.L.L.C., Amarillo, TX, for Plaintiff-Appellant State of Oklahoma.

Daniel Winik (argued), U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Division, Appellate Section, Washington, DC, for Defendants-Appellees.

Edward A. Zelinsky, New Haven, CT, for Amicus Curiae Edward A. Zelinsky.

Scott Andrew Shepard, National Center for Public Policy Research, Washington, DC, for Amici Curiae National Center for Public Policy Research, am, Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, Allen Mendenhall.

Christian G. Townsend, Texas Public Policy Foundation, Austin, TX, for Amici Curiae National Federation of Independent Business Small Business Legal Center, Texas Public Policy Foundation.

Jonathan F. Mitchell, Austin, TX, for Amicus Curiae Texas State Senator Bryan Hughes.

Donald L. R. Goodson, New York University, School of Law — Institute for Policy Integrity, New York, NY, for Amicus Curiae Institute for Policy Integrity at New York University School of Law.

Sommer H. Engels, Rosa Hayes, Harvard Law School, Environmental Law & Policy Clinic, Cambridge, MA, for Amici Curiae Professor Donald T. Bogan, Professor Richard L. Kaplan, Professor Dana M. Muir, Professor Norman P. Stein, Professor Lauren K. Valastro, Professor Peter J. Wiedenbeck.

Robert Allen Long, Jr., Esq., Covington & Burling, L.L.P., Washington, DC, for Amicus Curiae J. Mark Iwry.

Andrew John Pincus, Brantley Webb, Jennifer Leigh Weinberg, Mayer Brown, L.L.P., Washington, DC, for Amici Curiae. The American Retirement Association, Ceres, Incorporated.

Philip Levitz, Assistant Solicitor General, Office of the Attorney General, for the State of New York, New York, NY, for Amid Curiae State of New York, State of Arizona, State of California, State of Colorado, State of Connecticut, State of Delaware, State of Hawaii, State of Illinois, State of Maine, State of Maryland, State of Massachusetts, State of Michigan, State of Minnesota, State of Nevada, State of Oregon, State of Pennsylvania, State of Rhode Island, State of Vermont, State of Washington, District of Columbia.

Before Haynes, Willett, and Oldham, Circuit Judges.


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