Losing Side in Sixth Circuit HISA Appeal Wants Rehearing

By T. D. Thornton

Six weeks after the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld the constitutionality of the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA), the losing plaintiffs/appellants in a case led by the states of Oklahoma, West Virginia and Louisiana have petitioned for a rarely granted “en banc” procedure that asks for a rehearing before all 28 of that court’s judges instead of just the panel of three that issued the Mar. 3 decision.

“A panel of this Court [held] that the [HISA] Authority’s ability to issue federal regulations over the Federal Trade Commission [FTC]’s objection does not violate the private non-delegation doctrine because, since the [December 2022] statutory amendment, the FTC can modify those rules after the fact,” the Apr. 17 filing stated.

“The panel also refused to decide whether the Authority’s exclusive power to bring enforcement actions in federal court was unconstitutional, and it concluded that HISA’s fee-collection regime does not unconstitutionally coerce the States to administer a federal regulatory program,” the filing stated.

 

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Court Of Appeals Issues Temporary Stay, Lifting Injunction Against HISA In Louisiana, West Virginia

by Paulick Report Staff

 

The United States Court of Appeals has issued a temporary stay nullifying a July 26 injunction preventing the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority from enforcing its racetrack safety regulations in the states of Louisiana and West Virginia.

For now at least, the stay also makes moot the question of whether the injunction is limited to Louisiana and West Virginia or also applies to Jockeys’ Guild members riding Thoroughbred races in other states. The July 26 order by Terry Doughty, U.S. District Court Judge for the Western District of Louisiana, Lafayette Division, stated that the “geographic scope of the injunction shall be limited to the states of Louisiana and West Virginia,” but also included the phrase “and as to all plaintiffs in this proceeding.”