The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration suffered another blow in federal court with a U.S. District Court judge issuing a preliminary injunction blocking the U.S. Departments of Transportation and Homeland Security from obtaining some 17 million commercial driver’s license records.
The injunction is the latest development in a lawsuit brought by 21 states and D.C. against U.S. DOT over the government demanding more than 17 million CDL Information System (CDLIS) records from the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA), which administers and manages the CDLIS.
A separate lawsuit, brought by 22 states and D.C. targeting the Department of Homeland Security for making an identical demand of AAMVA, is on hold while the case against DOT plays out.
[Related: States sue DOT, DHS over demands for drivers' CDLIS records]
DOT’s request for the entire CDLIS database was made for the purposes of investigating "illegal practices" in CDL schools, according to the original lawsuit. Agencies also noted intent to ID and address "criminal fraud regarding the issuance of CDLs to illegal aliens, and conducting civil immigration enforcement."
The states argued against handing over the records, largely citing privacy concerns for CDL holders.
Senior U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga for the Eastern District of Virginia in August granted a temporary restraining order (TRO) while the court considered the request for a preliminary injunction. In that ruling, Trenga pointed out that the “standard for granting either a TRO or a preliminary injunction is the same.”
In granting the injunction Sept. 17, Trenga said the federal government opposed the preliminary injunction “on essentially the same grounds as they opposed” the TRO. The agencies reasserted their previously filed opposition to the TRO and asked the court of revisit certain specific aspects of the TRO.
[Related: Court blocks DOT’s demand for CDL records, siding with states]
After reviewing additional arguments from the government, Trenga ruled that the states “have made a clear showing that”:
- They are likely to succeed on the merits of their claims
- They would experience irreparable harm in the absence of injunctive relief
- The balance of equities is in their favor
- Granting injunctive relief is in the public interest
As such, Trenga ordered that AAMVA is enjoined from transferring to the DOT or other agencies the CDLIS records as requested. Additionally, the DOT, FMCSA and others are blocked from taking any adverse action against the plaintiff states or AAMVA based on the failure to transfer to them the information requested.
DOT had previously threatened to cancel AAMVA’s grants and even go as far as considering ending its contract with AAMVA to maintain the CDLIS.
[Related: CDL school fires back after emergency shutdown from FMCSA, White House task force]
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, who led the coalition of states in filing the lawsuit, applauded the court's decision to grant the injunction.
“Our coalition working together obtained this preliminary injunction that prevents the Trump administration from holding federal funding hostage in order to obtain the sensitive, personal information of millions of drivers,” Raoul said. “This database serves as an important tool that helps states prevent unsafe drivers from operating commercial vehicles. However, the administration’s unlawful actions jeopardize the entire system, which has existed for 40 years. I will continue to vigorously litigate this lawsuit to stop the Trump administration’s unlawful misuse of Americans’ personal information.”
The injunction will remain in place while the case continues and the court considers its full scope.
The ruling came the same week that FMCSA’s non-domiciled CDL rule took center stage at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. As reported, the ban faced heavy scrutiny during oral arguments.
[Related: FMCSA's non-domiciled CDL ban takes a beating in court]
