In Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, the Supreme Court punctuated its recent revolution in administrative law by overruling Chevron USA Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council. For 40 years, Chevron had been outcome determinative in a vast array of administrative law decisions because it required courts to defer to administrative actors’ interpretations of ambiguous laws. This sentiment was couched in “respect” to the agencies and their relative technical expertise, but it meant that agencies could drive legal analysis in ways previously reserved to the courts.
Popular opinion on Loper Bright has been mixed. But most sophisticated readings emphasize Chief Justice John Roberts’s majority opinion’s many caveats, its narrow analysis, and its steadfast avoidance of destabilizing consequences. Most notably, the majority opinion insists that the court did “not call into question prior cases that relied on the Chevron framework.”
But on the final day of the term, the court also released its decision in Corner Post Inc. v. Board of Governors of the Federal ReserveSystem, a case on the seemingly dry and unimportant question of whether a claim accrues under the Administrative Procedure Act’s review provisions when a plaintiff suffers an injury or when a regulation was issued. Corner Post held that a claim accrues, and thus the statute of limitations begins to run when a plaintiff is injured, no matter how old a rule might be.
Reading Loper Bright and Corner Post together suggests that Justice Roberts’s assurances about upsetting prior administrative law decisions may not always be accurate. Join Hudson for a panel discussion on the implications of these landmark court cases.
Join Hudson Institute for a conference with leaders from industry, government, academia, and defense to discuss the latest developments in the US-China AI competition.
Join House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (AL-03) for a fireside discussion with Senior Fellow Nadia Schadlow on Congress’s role in revitalizing America’s defense industrial base.
Please join Hudson Institute for a special address on the current state-of-play by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who will join remotely, followed by a question-and-answer session on the war with Hudson Institute President and CEO John Walters.
Bill Frauenhofer, executive director for semiconductor investment and innovation at the US Department of Commerce, will join Hudson Institute Senior Fellow David Feith for an invitation-only fireside chat on semiconductor onshoring and the role of government capital in strengthening America’s technological and industrial leadership.
