WASHINGTON, District of Columbia USA — On October 17th, 2006, U.S. District Court Judge Reggie B. Walton issued a scheduling order in the case of Tripoli Rocketry Association and National Association of Rocketry vs. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), establishing a fixed schedule for the remaining actions on Count 1 of the lawsuit regarding the classification of APCP as a regulated explosive.

Subsequently, on October 31st, 2006, ATF filed additional material to the administrative record on its determination of APCP as an explosive, meeting the established criteria for item 1 of the scheduling order.  Since that time, NAR/TRA counsel as well as the members of the two hobby organizations have had the opportunity to review the additional material.

Item 2 on the scheduling order called for the TRA/NAR to file an amendment to their complaint to reflect the new material in the administrative record by today, December 18, 2006.  This filing is considered a legal technicality of the case, therefore ATF has no legal objection, given the fact that they amended the administrative record with the test data.

The scheduling order calls for both TRA/NAR and ATF to then file cross motions for summary judgment of the case by January 31, 2007.  Respective motions in response and opposition to those summary judgment motions are due to the court by February 28, 2007, with responses in reply to objections due by March 23, 2007.

After the completion of these three filings, Judge Walton would be in a position to rule on Count 1 of the case.  If the judge needs to be briefed on any material in these three filings, that oral briefing could occur during the July 27, 2007 status conference.  Otherwise, a Count 1 ruling could be issued any time following the March 23, 2007 filings. 

Counts 4 and 5 of the lawsuit are still outstanding, and until Judge Walton decides the outcome of Count 1, it is not expected for the court to establish a briefing or hearing schedule for those counts.  The two counts deal with the assertion that ATF attempted to illegally regulate hobby rocketry motors by establishing a 62.5 gram propellant weight limit and a determination on the definition of propellant actuated devices (PADs) without following notice and comment rulemaking procedure.

The length of time this case has drug on, while unfortunate, is not uncommon in civil litigation.  With that comes the extension of the legal expenditure required to see a case of this type through to its end.  Even though the holiday season is upon the hobby community, the timing is right to take advantage of year-end tax deductible contributions made to the hobby legal fund.  The hobby's volunteer leaders remain committed to the process and only the community's contributions can allow the process to continue.

12-18-2006 06:09 PM  #1
crontab Certified Level Three   Joined: Aug 2006 Posts: 204	The TRA/NAR Legal Fund needs your contributions to continue to push this forward. Contribute now and write it off your taxes. Do what many have done: click the link for the T-Shirt Design of the Month and get a nice Christmas present *and* contribute to the Legal Fund! Just contribute. Remember Smokey the Bear: Only YOU can prevent an over-reaching government!