Saying it lacks jurisdiction, a federal appeals court has transferred a lawsuit about the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s DataQ process to a district court.
The lawsuit filed by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association centers on a refusal by FMCSA to allow a DataQ challenge of a June 2011 misdemeanor citation against a truck driver issued by a Montana Department of Transportation officer for failure to stop at a weigh station.
That charge was later dismissed by a Montana state court, but FMCSA denied the driver’s DataQ request to have the record of that charge removed from the federal database.
”Because we conclude that FMCSA’s action falls short of being a rule, regulation or final order … we lack jurisdiction under that provision, and we transfer the case to the district court,” said the opinion issued Feb. 28 by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
OOIDA considered the court’s action a victory. “Today’s decision removes uncertainty in the court system and gives drivers a clear path toward vindicating their rights,” OOIDA President Jim Johnston said in a statement.
