Harris Transportation Co. v. Air Resources Board

Plaintiffs appeal from a superior court judgment denying their petition for writ of mandate challenging enforcement of the Heavy-Duty Vehicle Inspection Program (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 13, §§ 2180-2187, hereafter HD VIP) adopted by defendant California Air Resources Board (Board). HD VIP establishes procedures and criteria for intermittent roadside measurement of smoke emissions from heavy-duty diesel motor vehicles. Plaintiffs’ writ petition invoked Code of Civil Procedure section 1094.5 to overturn specific enforcement actions pursuant to HD VIP and Code of Civil Procedure section 1085 to prohibit future enforcement of HD VIP. The superior court concluded plaintiffs failed in the administrative proceedings to preserve their challenge to the individual enforcement actions. As to the effort to prohibit future enforcement, the court concluded that an action to enforce a citation affords recipients of future citations for violating HD VIP a plain, speedy and adequate remedy (Code Civ. Proc., § 1086) by which to vindicate the concerns raised here by plaintiffs.

On appeal plaintiffs contend, as they did in the superior court, that the HD VIP test procedure is unlawful because…