Sign Up

NCLA Site Search

Cases

Choice Refrigerants v. EPA

CASE SUMMARY

The Environmental Protection Agency is picking and choosing which companies are allowed to produce and sell hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)—refrigeration chemicals commonly used in refrigerators and air conditioners—by using power that Congress unconstitutionally handed the agency. NCLA urges an end to this unconstitutional arrangement.

Congress passed the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act of 2020 to phase down HFC production, assigning EPA the power to distribute a limited number of allowances for companies to import or manufacture these critical products. But lawmakers did not give EPA any guidance about who should receive the allowances, violating foundational Constitutional protections that bar Congress from improperly abdicating its legislative authority to agencies. Instead of allocating allowances properly attributable to NCLA’s client, Choice Refrigerants, an American small business that created and patented a popular HFC blend, EPA instead granted allowances to Choice’s import agent and to a Chinese-owned company that infringed on their patent. EPA has also relied on Executive Orders to set some allowances aside for new market entrants rather than existing companies like Choice.

OUR TEAM

Zhonette Brown
General Counsel and Senior Litigation Counsel
Kaitlyn Schiraldi
Staff Attorney

RELEVANT MATERIALS

NCLA FILINGS

Order Denying Petition for Panel Rehearing

August 18, 2023 | Read More

PRESS RELEASES

NCLA Appeals EPA’s Lawless Stranglehold on Refrigeration Companies Amid Dangerous Heat Wave

August 4, 2023 | Read More

IN THE MEDIA

Give Me Liberty, or Give Me…Whatever EPA Wants 

NCLA Blog

May 15, 2024

RELATED CASES
  • Javier Aguila, et al. v. Doug Ducey, et al.​

    Scope of Authority / Nondelegation

    The structure of the Constitution allows only Congress to legislate, only the Executive to enforce laws, and only the Judiciary to decide cases. But the Administrative State evades the Constitution’s avenues of governance when executive agencies issue regulations without statutory authorization from Congress.

    Case Closed -

    Agencies: Arizona Governor

    View Case
  • States of Alaska, South Carolina, and Texas v. Department of Education, et al.

    Scope of Authority / Nondelegation

    The structure of the Constitution allows only Congress to legislate, only the Executive to enforce laws, and only the Judiciary to decide cases. But the Administrative State evades the Constitution’s avenues of governance when executive agencies issue regulations without statutory authorization from Congress.

    Case Active - July 16, 2024

    Agencies: Department of Education

    View Case
  • Allstates Refractory Contractors LLC v. Julie A. Su, in her official capacity as Acting Secretary of Labor, et al.

    Scope of Authority / Nondelegation

    The structure of the Constitution allows only Congress to legislate, only the Executive to enforce laws, and only the Judiciary to decide cases. But the Administrative State evades the Constitution’s avenues of governance when executive agencies issue regulations without statutory authorization from Congress.

    Case Closed - July 2, 2024

    Agencies: Department of Labor | Occupation Safety and Health Administration

    View Case
  • Alpine Securities Corporation v. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, United States of America

    Scope of Authority / Nondelegation

    The structure of the Constitution allows only Congress to legislate, only the Executive to enforce laws, and only the Judiciary to decide cases. But the Administrative State evades the Constitution’s avenues of governance when executive agencies issue regulations without statutory authorization from Congress.

    Case Closed -

    Agencies: Financial Industry Regulatory Authority

    View Case
  • American Home Furnishings Alliance, et al. v. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

    Due Process Violations

    The due process of law guarantees a right to be held to account only through the processes of an impartial court—something administrative tribunals violate every day.

    Scope of Authority / Nondelegation

    The structure of the Constitution allows only Congress to legislate, only the Executive to enforce laws, and only the Judiciary to decide cases. But the Administrative State evades the Constitution’s avenues of governance when executive agencies issue regulations without statutory authorization from Congress.

    Case Closed - June 30, 2023

    Agencies: Consumer Product Safety Commission

    View Case
  • American Hospital Association, et al. v. Xavier Becerra, et al.

    Judicial Deference

    Deference doctrines require judges to defer to an administrative agency’s fact finding, or its interpretation of statutes and regulations. Thus, judges surrender their independent judgment and, where the government is a party, must exhibit systematic bias in the government’s favor, which denies due process of law to the other litigant.

    Due Process Violations

    The due process of law guarantees a right to be held to account only through the processes of an impartial court—something administrative tribunals violate every day.

    Scope of Authority / Nondelegation

    The structure of the Constitution allows only Congress to legislate, only the Executive to enforce laws, and only the Judiciary to decide cases. But the Administrative State evades the Constitution’s avenues of governance when executive agencies issue regulations without statutory authorization from Congress.

    Case Closed - June 15, 2022

    Agencies: Department of Health and Human Services

    View Case

SHARE THIS CASE

Enter your email address above to be notified whenever we post a new document to this case.