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PHI Air Medical, LLC v. Texas Mutual Insurance Company, et al.

Paid petition · Supreme Court of Texas, No. 18-0216 · judgment June 26, 2020

Certiorari denied · April 26, 2021
Pre-decision estimate: 12% cert probability (95% interval 8%–17%)

Before the decision, about 2.8× the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for counsel who has won certiorari before, a circuit split argued in the petition, and a dissent in the court below (flagged in the petition), and down for a business respondent.

Questions presented

The Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 (“ADA”) broadly preempts any state law or regulation “related to a price, route, or service of an air carrier.” 49 U.S.C. §41713(b)(1). Air-ambulance companies are federally licensed “air carriers.” Nonetheless, the Texas Workers’ Compensation Act dictates the amounts air-ambulance companies may charge and collect for air-transport services provided to individuals covered by workers’ compensation. Specifically, workers’ compensation insurers need only pay a “fair and reasonable” rate—calculated here to be 125% of the Medicare rate—and air-ambulance companies are forbidden from billing patients or their employers for the service. Given that such schemes dictate what the only party that can be charged must pay to air carriers, the Fourth, Tenth, and Eleventh Circuits have held that comparable state laws constitute impermissible rate regulation preempted by the ADA, but a divided Texas Supreme Court upheld the Texas system at issue here. The questions presented are:

  1. Whether the ADA preempts a state workers’ compensation system that limits the prices an air-ambulance company can charge and collect for its air-transport services.

  2. Whether the McCarran-Ferguson Act exempts such a system from ADA preemption.

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Paul D. Clement
Clement & Murphy, PLLC

For respondent
James Michael Loughlin
Stone Loughlin & Swanson, LLP

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Amicus briefs
3 cert-stage

Proceedings

  1. Apr 26 2021
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Apr 07 2021
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/23/2021.
  3. Apr 06 2021
    Reply of petitioner PHI Air Medical, LLC filed. (Distributed)
  4. Mar 23 2021
    Brief of respondent Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation in opposition filed.
  5. Mar 23 2021
    Brief of respondent Texas Mutual Insurance Company in opposition submitted.
  6. Mar 08 2021
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including March 23, 2021, for all respondents.
  7. Mar 05 2021
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from March 8, 2021 to March 23, 2021, submitted to The Clerk.
  8. Feb 24 2021
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including March 8, 2021, for all respondents.
  9. Feb 23 2021
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from March 1, 2021 to March 8, 2021, submitted to The Clerk.
  10. Dec 31 2020
    Brief amicus curiae of Airbus Helicopters, Inc. filed.
  11. Dec 31 2020
    Brief amicus curiae of Air Methods Corporation filed.
  12. Dec 30 2020
    Brief amicus curiae of Air Medical Operators Association filed.
  13. Dec 16 2020
    Blanket Consent filed by Petitioner, PHI Air Medical, LLC
  14. Dec 11 2020
    Motion of respondent Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers' Compensation to extend the time to file a response from December 31, 2020 to March 1, 2021, submitted to The Clerk.
  15. Dec 11 2020
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including March 1, 2021, for all respondents.
  16. Nov 23 2020
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due December 31, 2020)