CSX Transportation, Inc. v. Alabama Department of Revenue , 797 F.3d 1293 ( 2015 )

Case: 12-14611 Date Filed: 08/19/2015 Page: 1 of 3
[PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
________________________
No. 12-14611
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D.C. Docket No. 2:08-cv-00655-AKK
CSX TRANSPORTATION, INC.,
Plaintiff - Appellant,
versus
ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE,
COMMISSIONER, ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE,
Defendants - Appellees.
________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Alabama
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(August 19, 2015)
ON REMAND FROM THE
UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT
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Before WILSON and COX, Circuit Judges, and BOWEN, * District Judge.
PER CURIAM:
This court previously determined the State of Alabama failed to sufficiently
justify its decision to impose certain taxes on rail carriers, including CSX
Transportation, Inc., when motor carriers and water carriers (both railroad
competitors) are not subject to the same. See CSX Transportation, Inc. v. Alabama
Department of Revenue, 720 F.3d 863 (11th Cir. 2013). The Supreme Court
reversed and remanded, concluding that we should reconsider whether the State
has offered sufficient justification—through the imposition of an alternative,
comparable tax or otherwise—for exempting railroad competitors from the sales
and use taxes the State imposes on railroads when they purchase or consume diesel
fuel. See CSX Transportation, Inc. v. Alabama Department of Revenue, 575 U.S.
___, 135 S. Ct. 1136, 1143–44 (2015) (stating that “an alternative, roughly
equivalent tax is one possible justification that renders a tax disparity
nondiscriminatory,” and, while the State “cannot offer a similar defense with
respect to its exemption for water carriers,” it offers other justifications that should
be considered on remand).
In light of the Supreme Court’s decision and after the benefit of
supplemental briefing by the parties, we vacate our prior opinion, reported at 720
*
Honorable Dudley H. Bowen, Jr., United States District Judge for the Southern District
of Georgia, sitting by designation.
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Case: 12-14611 Date Filed: 08/19/2015 Page: 3 of 3
F.3d 863 (11th Cir. 2013), vacate the judgment of the district court, and remand
this case to the district court for further proceedings consistent with the Supreme
Court’s opinion.
VACATED and REMANDED.
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