PUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 18-1042 ORUS ASHBY BERKLEY; JAMES T. CHANDLER; KATHY E. CHANDLER; CONSTANTINE THEODORE CHLEPAS; PATTI LEE CHLEPAS; ROGER D. CRABTREE; REBECCA H. CRABTREE; GEORGE LEE JONES; ROBERT WAYNE MORGAN; PATRICIA ANN MORGAN; MARGARET MCGRAW SLAYTON LIVING TRUST; THOMAS TRIPLETT; BONNIE B. TRIPLETT, Plaintiffs - Appellants, and DAWN E. CISEK; MARTIN CISEK; EDITH FERN ECHOLS; ESTIAL E. ECHOLS, JR., Plaintiffs, v. MOUNTAIN VALLEY PIPELINE, LLC; FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION; NEIL CHATTERJEE, in his official capacity as Acting Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Defendants - Appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia, at Roanoke. Elizabeth Kay Dillon, District Judge. (7:17-cv-00357-EKD) Argued: May 10, 2018 Decided: July 25, 2018 Before GREGORY, Chief Judge, and WYNN, and THACKER, Circuit Judges. Affirmed by published opinion. Judge Wynn wrote the opinion, in which Chief Judge Gregory and Judge Thacker joined. ARGUED: Justin Michael Lugar, GENTRY LOCKE, Roanoke, Virginia, for Appellants. Susanna Y. Chu, FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION, Washington, D.C., for Appellees Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Neil Chatterjee. Wade Wallihan Massie, PENN, STUART & ESKRIDGE, Abingdon, Virginia, for Appellee Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC. ON BRIEF: Cynthia M. Kinser, Monica T. Monday, GENTRY LOCKE, Roanoke, Virginia, for Appellants. James P. Danly, General Counsel, Robert H. Solomon, Solicitor, FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION, Washington, D.C., for Appellees Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Neil Chatterjee. Mark E. Frye, Seth M. Land, PENN, STUART & ESKRIDGE, Abingdon, Virginia, for Appellee Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC. 2 WYNN, Circuit Judge: Plaintiffs1 are landowners along the path of a proposed natural gas pipeline. They brought this action against the Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and Neil Chatterjee, in his official capacity as Acting Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (hereinafter collectively referred to as “Defendants”) challenging the constitutionality of various provisions of the Natural Gas Act, 15 U.S.C. § 717 et seq. But the district court, without reaching the merits of Plaintiffs’ challenges, dismissed their action for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction on the grounds that their claims must instead be brought through the agency review process laid out in the Natural Gas Act. We affirm. I. A. This case involves a complex administrative review framework that warrants some introduction. In 1977, Congress transferred much of the authority from the now-defunct Federal Power Commission to the new Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 1 Plaintiffs are Orus Ashby Berkley, James T. Chandler, Kathy E. Chandler, Constantine Theodore Chlepas, Patti Lee Chlepas, Roger D. Crabtree, Rebecca H. Crabtree, George Lee Jones, Robert Wayne Morgan, Patricia Ann Morgan, Margaret McGraw Slayton Living Trust, Thomas Triplett, Bonnie B. Triplett, Dawn E. Cisek, Martin Cisek, Edith Fern Echols, and Estial E. Echols, Jr. After this appeal was filed, Dawn Cisek, Martin Cisek, Edith Echols, and Estial Echols withdrew their discrete appeals. Accordingly, we have updated the caption of this case to reflect their status as Plaintiffs and not as Plaintiff-Appellants. 3 (“FERC,” or “the Commission”). See 42 ...
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