Metropolitan Taxicab Board of Trade v. City of New York

In March 2009, New York City adopted a package of incentives to encourage taxicab owners to convert to all-hybrid fleets. The incentives had been designed as an alternative to city fuel efficiency rules for taxis struck down earlier by a federal district court on federal preemption grounds. To encourage the purchase of hybrid vehicles, the alternative plan relied on incentives in City lease cap rules rather than miles-per-gallon fuel efficiency standards. The fleet owners and a trade association filed an action in federal court alleging that the rules that reduced the lease caps for non-hybrid, non-clean diesel vehicles constituted a mandate that was preempted by the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) and the CAA. In June 2009, the district court granted a motion for a preliminary injunction blocking the incentive plan, holding that the new rules amounted to a de facto mandate to purchase hybrid vehicles and thus they were related to fuel economy and preempted under the EPCA and the CAA.

The Supreme Court denied a request by New York City to review a Second Circuit decision that blocked enforcement of city regulations requiring taxicab owners to convert to an all-hybrid fleet.