SpaceX on Friday doubled down on claims that a judge was wrong to send the rocket maker's lawsuit challenging the structure of the National Labor Relations Board from Texas to California, telling a U.S. appeals court that "plaintiffs are allowed to prefer forums with favorable caselaw."
SpaceX in a brief filed with the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said that while the case may have closer ties to California, it has implications for the entire company including a major launch facility and other operations based in Texas.
Federal law "does not confine venue to the 'best' venue," SpaceX said.
NLRB spokeswoman Kayla Blado declined to comment.
The company late last week filed an emergency petition with the 5th Circuit one day after U.S. District Judge Rolando Olvera in Brownsville, Texas, transferred the case to Los Angeles, where SpaceX is facing claims before the labor board that it illegally fired engineers for criticizing CEO Elon Musk.
The 5th Circuit on Tuesday temporarily blocked the transfer so it could consider the petition. But Olvera's order had already been received by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, so it is not clear what effect the 5th Circuit's stay will have. The Los Angeles court docketed the lawsuit on Friday after NLRB lawyers raised concerns about a delay in a letter.
SpaceX in a subsequent filing with the 5th Circuit on Friday accused the board of undermining the stay by filing the letter in the Los Angeles court. The company urged a three-judge panel to rule quickly on the company's petition "so that any relief this court might be inclined to order can have its intended effect."
The 5th Circuit can ask the Los Angeles court to send the case back to Texas but cannot order it to because it is covered by a different appeals court, the 9th Circuit.
SpaceX filed its lawsuit last month, one day after the NLRB issued a complaint against the company. The lawsuit claims the NLRB's in-house enforcement proceedings and limits on the removal of administrative judges and board members violate the U.S. Constitution. Starbucks, Amazon.com and Trader Joe's have since raised similar arguments in pending board cases, and two Starbucks baristas have filed separate lawsuits challenging the board's structure.
The board in court filings has made various arguments countering those claims, including that the ability to appeal administrative judges' rulings to the board, and board decisions to federal appeals courts, safeguards employers' constitutional rights.
In a brief on Thursday, the board told the 5th Circuit that SpaceX had not met the high bar for winning emergency relief from the court of showing that Olvera committed "extraordinary errors." SpaceX is based in California, as were most of the engineers who were fired, and the board case is proceeding in Los Angeles, the agency's lawyers said.
Federal courts in Texas have become a favored destination for legal challenges to government regulations and enforcement powers, with its high concentration of conservative judges and the fact that they are within the 5th Circuit, which is considered by many to be the most conservative U.S. appeals court.
The company is seeking to block a hearing in the NLRB case scheduled for March 5.
The case is In re Space Exploration Technologies, 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 24-40103.
For SpaceX: Harry Johnson, Michael Kenneally, Catherine Eschbach and Amanda Salz of Morgan Lewis & Bockius
For the NLRB: David Boehm
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