he notice was the agency’s response to a provision in the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 which increased the penalties for engaging in a reportable transaction understatement. Here, at issue was the value of charitable deductions generated by the creation of environmental easements made in connection with land transactions. These claimed deductions amounted to more than $60 million. The petitioners argued that IRS Notice 2017-10, which authorized such large penalties, was in fact a “legislative rule” whose promulgation should have complied with the notice and comment requirements of the APA. The agency contended that the Congress, by implication, absolved the IRS from the notice and comment requirements. The court agreed with the petitioners and set aside Notice 2017-10 and the imposition of penalties under Section 6662A of the Jobs Creation Act. On December 8, 2022, the IRS published a notice of proposed rulemaking that would correct the APA deficiencies noted by the courts. (See 87 FR 75185.)The U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit The DC Circuit has ordered the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to complete its much-delayed cyantraniliprole evaluation under the Endangered Species Act by September 2023. In doing so, the court granted a writ of mandamus petition submitted by the Center for Biological Diversity on November 22, 2022. The EPA registered this new pesticide several years ago without complying with the dictates of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and five years ago it was ordered by the court to fulfill its statutory obligation. None of the parties to this litigation desired to have the court vacate the registration, because the challenged registration still provides some enhanced protection to listed dangerous and threatened species. The case is In re: Center for Biological Diversity and Center for Food Safety, decided on November 22, 2022.U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit On November 8, 2022, the Third Circuit again dismissed a lawsuit filed