CopyCited 3 times | Published | District Court, N.D. Florida
...Congress authorized the NTSB to prescribe regulations necessary to the exercise of its investigative functions. 49 U.S.C. § 1113 (f). Among such regulations is one that concerns the "[p]rovision and dissemination of investigative information." 49 C.F.R. § 831.13 . Subsection (c) of § 831.13 prohibits parties to an investigation from "releasing information obtained during an investigation at any time prior to the NTSB's public release of information" unless certain criteria not relevant here are met. Id. § 831.13(c) (emphasis added)....
...The restrictions on release of investigative information are designed to ensure that NTSB investigations proceed expeditiously without interference or competing interests driving the focus of the parties. ECF 2-30 ¶ 5. (Molloy Decl.). 1 *1357 The term "information" for purposes of § 831.13 is defined as: (1) Information related to the accident or incident; (2) Any information collected or compiled by the NTSB as part of its investigation, such as photographs, visual representations of factual data, physical evidence from the...
...cident, interview statements, wreckage documentation, flight data and cockpit voice recorder information, and surveillance video; and (3) Any information regarding the status of an investigation, or activities conducted as part of the investigation. §
831.13(a). Except where the NTSB authorizes a party to retain information, a party to the investigation must promptly provide to the NTSB "[a]ll information described in §
831.13(a)" obtained by that party. §
831.13(b). Consistent with §
831.13, the NTSB directed FDOT to turn over departmental records related to the bridge collapse and to not disclose those records to third parties unless approved by the NTSB's IIC. The NTSB recently addressed the rule set forth in §
831.13 when, in 2017, it promulgated a final revised rule regarding the provision and dissemination of investigative information. See Investigation Procedures, 82 Fed. Reg. 29670 -01,
2017 WL 2797254 (June 29, 2017). Among other things, the NTSB explained: [W]e need to remain the sole disseminator of [investigative information as defined in §
831.13(a) ]....
...state court seeking an order requiring FDOT to produce responsive documents that existed on or after February 20, 2018, documents that all parties agree constitute "public records" under Florida law. 2 Plaintiffs alleged that: FDOT's reliance upon [ § 831.13(c) ] as a basis for withholding every public record from February 20 and later is misplaced because records that FDOT made and received in connection with the transaction of its official business before the bridge collapsed on March 15-and...
...dent is contrary to the express language of the regulation and relevant rulemaking history, and as explained below, would negate the entire purpose of the regulation." ECF 8-1, Ex. 1 at 1. The June 1 letter further explained: If ... the regulation [ § 831.13 ] permitted each party to release all relevant factual information in its own possession prior to the accident (i.e....
..., then reassemble the portions into a complete whole. It would be nothing more than an exercise in collating stacks of information, and the bulk of the NTSB's investigation file would be laid bare prematurely. This is precisely the outcome 49 C.F.R. § 831.13 prohibits....
...investigative information collected by the NTSB before the NTSB authorizes release of the documents. ECF 2-10. Finally, FDOT *1360 asked the state court to take judicial notice of the general counsel's May 3 letter regarding NTSB's interpretation of § 831.13, arguing that the letter constituted an official action of the NTSB....
...t its interests in the case through an amicus brief). On July 31, 2018, again at a hearing on FDOT's motions, counsel presented their arguments to a different state court judge. The focus of these arguments was on five words in the first sentence in § 831.13(c), namely, "information obtained during an investigation." Counsel for Plaintiffs contended that subsection (c)'s release prohibition applies to "information obtained [ by FDOT ] during an investigation." According to Plaintiffs' counsel, § 831.13(c) does not apply to records that pre-dated FDOT's designation as a "party" to the NTSB investigation because those records were not obtained by FDOT during an investigation....
...In contrast, counsel *1361 for FDOT asserted that subsection (c)'s prohibition applies to "information obtained [ by the NTSB ] during an investigation." Because the records in question were obtained by the NTSB during its investigation, FDOT's counsel argued that the release prohibition set forth in § 831.13(c) applies to the records sought by Plaintiffs, obliging FDOT to withhold the records until the NTSB authorizes their release notwithstanding the state public records law....
...the NTSB as part of its investigation." Counsel for the United States also urged the court to defer to the NTSB's interpretation of the regulation as set out during the NSTB's 2017 rulemaking process. While acknowledging that the parties interpreted § 831.13(c) in opposing ways, the state court judge found that (1) there was no reason to defer to the NTSB's interpretation of § 831.13(c) because the regulation unambiguously supports Plaintiffs' interpretation; and (2) the requested records do not constitute "information obtained during an investigation" and, therefore, § 831.13(c) does not apply, making inapplicable the doctrine of federal preemption....
...operations through the promulgation of regulations. 49 U.S.C. § 1131 . The NTSB promulgated such regulations, and the NTSB's interpretation of those regulations is entitled to deference. 5 Among the regulations promulgated by the NTSB is 49 C.F.R. § 831.13 . Consistent with its published interpretation of § 831.13(c), see 82 Fed....
