As we discussed here, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit ruled last month in Dilts v. Penske Logistics (Dilts) that California meal and rest period laws are not preempted by the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act (FAAAA). The FAAAA provides that “States may not enact or enforce a law . . . related to a price, route, or service of any motor carrier . . . with respect to the transportation of property.” 49 U.S.C. § 14501. In Dilts, while the lower court had determined that the FAAAA preempted California meal and rest period laws, the three-member panel of the Ninth Circuit disagreed, finding that California’s meal and rest period laws are not “related to” Defendants’ prices, routes, or services.
On August 6, 2014, Defendants filed a Petition for Rehearing seeking to have the case reheard en banc, meaning that the Ninth Circuit panel’s decision would be reviewed by the Ninth Circuit’s full complement of nine judges. Defendants seek to have the case reheard en banc on the ground that the issue presented involves questions of exceptional importance and that the decision by the three-judge panel conflicts with decisions of the United States Supreme Court and other Circuits. We will continue to monitor developments in this case and keep you posted here.
