28 U.S.C. § 2321
Section 2321 · Judicial review of Boards orders and decisions; procedure generally; process
Amended 5 times on record
Applied in 334 court decisions — leading case Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. Wichita Board of Trade (1973)
Most recently applied in Husky Marketing and Supply Company v. FERC (June 2024)
Applied most in the District Circuit Circuit (46 decisions)
Cases citing this section usually also cite 5 U.S.C. § 706 · 28 U.S.C. § 1336 · 28 U.S.C. § 2342
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
(a) Except as otherwise provided by an Act of Congress, a proceeding to enjoin or suspend, in whole or in part, a rule, regulation, or order of the Surface Transportation Board shall be brought in the court of appeals as provided by and in the manner prescribed in chapter 158 of this title.
(b) The procedure in the district courts in actions to enforce, in whole or in part, any order of the Surface Transportation Board other than for payment of money or the collection of fines, penalties, and forfeitures, shall be as provided in this chapter.
(c) The orders, writs, and process of the district courts may, in the cases specified in subsection (b) and in enforcement actions and actions to collect civil penalties under subtitle IV of title 49, run, be served and be returnable anywhere in the United States.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Historical and Revision Notes
1948 Act
Based on title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., §44 (Oct. 22, 1913, ch. 32, 38 Stat. 220.)
Word “actions” was substituted for “cases,” in view of rule 2 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
The exception as to procedure in the infliction of criminal punishment was omitted as unnecessary, as Title 18, U.S.C., Crimes and Criminal Procedure, and the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure govern procedure in criminal matters.
Changes were made in phraseology.
1949 Act
This section corrects, in section 2321 of title 28, U.S.C., the reference to certain sections in title 49, U.S.C. The provisions which were formerly set out as section 49 of such title 49, are now set out as section 23 of such title.
Amendments
1995—Pub. L. 104–88 substituted “Board's” for “Commission's” in section catchline and “Surface Transportation Board” for “Interstate Commerce Commission” in subsecs. (a) and (b).
1978—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 95–473 substituted “enforcement actions and actions to collect civil penalties under subtitle IV of title 49” for “actions under section 20 of the Act of February 4, 1887, as amended (24 Stat. 386; 49 U.S.C. 20), section 23 of the Act of May 16, 1942, as amended (56 Stat. 301; 49 U.S.C. 23), and section 3 of the Act of February 19, 1903, as amended (32 Stat. 848; 49 U.S.C. 43)”.
1975—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 93–584 designated existing provisions as subsecs. (b) and (c) and added subsec. (a).
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 93–584 designated existing first par. as subsec. (b) and substituted “in whole or in part, any order of the Interstate Commerce Commission other than for”, for “suspend, enjoin, annual or set aside in whole or in part any order of the Interstate Commerce Commission other than for the”.
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 93–584 designated existing second par. as subsec. (c), substituted reference to subsec. (b) of this section for reference to this section, and inserted references to the dates of enactment, statute citations and code references of sections 20, 23 and 43 of Title 49.
1949—Act May 24, 1949, substituted “20, 23, and 43” for “20, 43, and 49” in second par.
Effective Date of 1995 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 104–88 effective Jan. 1, 1996, see section 2 of Pub. L. 104–88, set out as an Effective Date note under section 701 of Title 49, Transportation.
Effective Date of 1975 Amendment
Section 10 of Pub. L. 93–584 provided that: “This Act [amending this section, sections 1336, 1398, 2323, 2341, and 2342 of this title, and section 305 of former Title 49, Transportation, and repealing sections 2324 and 2325 of this title] shall not apply to any action commenced on or before the last day of the first month beginning after the date of enactment [Jan. 2, 1975]. However, actions to enjoin or suspend orders of the Interstate Commerce Commission which are pending when this Act becomes effective shall not be affected thereby, but shall proceed to final disposition under the law existing on the date they were commenced.”