JOHN A. TAYLOR, PETITIONER
v.
MICHAEL P. HUERTA, AS ADMINISTRATOR, FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, RESPONDENT
v.
MICHAEL P. HUERTA, AS ADMINISTRATOR, FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, RESPONDENT
“I wanted to be able to fly my drone and I didn’t want to have to register. It pissed me off on a very sort of visceral level." Image courtesy Sukie Kim.
John A. Taylor, Esq., decided he had enough of bureaucratic BS, and so he sued the Federal Aviation Administration. By himself. For no money, but only for the pure principle of the matter. It was not even for fame, and it was not even in his practice area (he practices insurance law).
It was him against the man. Just take stock of the intimidating header of the case to begin with:
John A. Taylor, pro se, argued the cause and filed the briefs for petitioner.
Abby C. Wright, Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice, argued the cause for respondent. With her on the brief were Benjamin C. Mizer, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General at the time the brief was filed, Michael S. Raab, Attorney, and Paul M. Geier, Assistant General Counsel for Litigation, Federal Aviation Administration. Richard H. Saltsman, Attorney, Federal Aviation Administration, entered an appearance.
But sometimes, no matter how many lawyers they have have on their side, sometimes, justice does pervail:
It was him against the man. Just take stock of the intimidating header of the case to begin with:
John A. Taylor, pro se, argued the cause and filed the briefs for petitioner.
Abby C. Wright, Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice, argued the cause for respondent. With her on the brief were Benjamin C. Mizer, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General at the time the brief was filed, Michael S. Raab, Attorney, and Paul M. Geier, Assistant General Counsel for Litigation, Federal Aviation Administration. Richard H. Saltsman, Attorney, Federal Aviation Administration, entered an appearance.
But sometimes, no matter how many lawyers they have have on their side, sometimes, justice does pervail:
"To begin, Taylor does not think that the FAA had the statutory authority to issue the Registration Rule and require 3 him to register. Taylor is right. In 2012, Congress passed and President Obama signed the FAA Modernization and Reform Act. Section 336(a) of that Act states that the FAA 'may not promulgate any rule or regulation regarding a model aircraft.' Pub. L. No. 112–95, § 336(a), 126 Stat. 11, 77 (2012) (codified at 49 U.S.C. § 40101 note). The FAA’s 2015 Registration Rule, which applies to model aircraft, directly violates that clear statutory prohibition. We therefore grant Taylor’s petition and vacate the Registration Rule to the extent it applies to model aircraft."
Congrats, John!
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