WASHINGTON–A ruling in the lawsuit filed by fired NCUA board members Todd Harper and Tanya Otsuka could come before year-end following the release of an expedited briefing schedule released by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. District.
The development comes less than a week after the court upheld an emergency stay request by the federal government turning back a decision that would have returned the two members to the board.
Harper and Otsuka, both Democrats, are seeking to be reinstated to the NCUA board after having been fired by President Trump in mid-April. The board currently has one member, Republican Kyle Hauptman.
According to a review by America’s Credit Unions of the court’s schedule for the case, the dates for briefings include:
- Sept. 12: the Justice Department’s next brief is due
- Oct. 3: Harper and Otsuka’s reply brief is due
- Oct. 17: The government’s reply is due
The clerk of the court was directed to schedule the case for “the first appropriate date following the conclusion of the briefing,” with the parties to be informed of oral argument dates later, America’s Credit Unions stated.
Some analysts have suggested the case could go all the way to the Supreme Court; others have suggested similar cases could be decided first by the Supreme Court and could be precedents.
The Case to Date
As the CU Daily reported here, last week the D.C. Circuit Appeals Court ruled in favor of the federal government’s motion to stay a decision that would have allowed Harper and Otsuka to return to the panel. The duo was temporarily returned to the NCUA board in time for its July board meeting, before the Justice Department prevailed upon the court to issue an emergency stay of that decision.
Harper and Otsuka are arguing in their lawsuit that the president lacks the authority under the Federal Credit Union Act to remove board members.
