Standards for appellate stays

In United States v. Transocean Deepwater Drilling, the Fifth Circuit reviewed the standards for a stay pending appeal.  No.13-20243 (July 23, 2013, unpublished).  The case involved an administrative subpoena related to the Macondo accident.  The Court first analyzed the interplay between the typical four-factor test (likely success on the merits, irreparable injury, injury to the nonmovant, and the public interest) and a variant from Ruiz v. Estelle, 650 F.2d 555 (5th Cir. Unit A June 1981), which required “a substantial case on the merits when a serious legal issue is involved,” noting that the Ruiz analysis applies only if the other three factors are “heavily tilted in the movant’s favor.”  Here, the Court found a failure to satisfy both tests: (1) it assumed that the movant had a “substantial case,” in large part because the district court expressly said so in denying it relief; but (2) found no irreparable injury from providing the requested documents; and (3) found a public interest in proceeding with their production, as there had already been a lengthy delay.