Jeffrey Moats v. National Credit Union Administration Board, a Federal Administrative Agency, et al.

After Jeffrey Moats served as a CEO for a small credit union for 25 years, he found himself subject to an investigation by the National Credit Union Administration Board (NCUA). Faced with the prospect of litigating not only before an administrative law judge insulated by an unconstitutional for-cause removal restriction, but also without the jury trial the Constitution guarantees for claims seeking civil penalties, he filed suit in district court seeking to enjoin the unconstitutional NCUA proceedings. Relying on this Court’s decision in Axon Enterprise, Inc. v. FTC, 598 U.S. 175 (2023), Moats’s lawsuit focused on constitutional issues collateral to the underlying issues and asserted a “here-and-now injury” from being subjected to an illegitimate proceeding, led by an illegitimate decisionmaker. But the district court nonetheless dismissed Moats’s lawsuit for want of jurisdiction, reading the Federal Credit Union Act to explicitly preclude district court jurisdiction, so Axon did not apply. The Fifth Circuit affirmed. The questions presented are:

1. Whether the Federal Credit Union Act strips federal district courts of jurisdiction over constitutional challenges to a federal agency’s structure, procedures, and existence.

2. Whether Congress may, consistent with Article III, strip federal district courts of jurisdiction over structural constitutional challenges to a federal agency’s authority to proceed at all.