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Corner Post, Inc. v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

Facts of the Case

Provided by Oyez

The case concerns the interchange fees associated with debit card transactions, which generate billions of dollars in revenue for issuing banks. The regulatory agency, the Board of the Federal Reserve System, promulgated a rule (“Regulation II”) to govern these fees. Regulation II caps the fees that banks can charge for each debit card transaction. Petitioners in the case include Corner Post, a convenience store, the North Dakota Retail Association (NDRA), and the North Dakota Petroleum Marketers Association (NDPMA), all of whom accept debit card payments and are thus affected by interchange fees.

On April 29, 2021, the North Dakota Retail Association (NDRA) and the North Dakota Petroleum Marketers Association (NDPMA) challenged Regulation II as arbitrary and capricious, in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). After the Board moved to dismiss the case based on the statute of limitations, NDRA and NDPMA amended their complaint to add Corner Post, Inc. as an additional plaintiff. The district court dismissed the case, ruling that the 2015 clarification to Regulation II did not reset the statute of limitations, that Corner Post's statute of limitations began in 2011 with the original publication of Regulation II, and that none of the plaintiffs’ claims warranted equitable tolling. The Merchants appealed, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed.

Questions

  1. Does a plaintiff’s claim under the Administrative Procedure Act “first accrue” under 28 U.S.C. § 2401(a) when an agency issues a rule, or when the rule first causes harm to the plaintiff?

Conclusions

  1. An Administrative Procedures Act claim does not accrue for purposes of 28 U.S.C. §2401(a) until the plaintiff is injured by final agency action. Justice Amy Coney Barrett authored the 6-3 majority opinion of the Court.

    The text of 28 U.S.C. §2401(a) states that a civil action against the United States must be filed "within six years after the right of action first accrues." The Court interpreted this language according to its traditional meaning in the context of statutes of limitations, concluding that a right of action "accrues" when the plaintiff has a "complete and present cause of action"—that is, when the plaintiff has the right to file suit and obtain relief. For an Administrative Procedures Act claim, this requires both final agency action (as specified in 5 U.S.C. § 704) and an injury to the plaintiff (as required by 5 U.S.C. § 702).

    The Court rejected arguments that APA claims should be treated differently from other civil actions against the government, emphasizing that § 2401(a) uses standard accrual language that had a well-settled meaning when it was enacted in 1948. The Court also distinguished § 2401(a) from other statutes that explicitly start the clock at the time of final agency action, noting that Congress chose different language for §2401(a). By interpreting "accrues" consistently with its traditional meaning, the Court concluded that an APA claim does not accrue until the plaintiff has both experienced an injury and the agency action causing that injury has become final.

    Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined the majority opinion in full and wrote a separate concurrence.

    Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented and was joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.

Deep Dive Episode 287 - Courthouse Steps Oral Argument: Corner Post, Inc. v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
RTP's Fourth Branch Podcast

Deep Dive Episode 287 - Courthouse Steps Oral Argument: Corner Post, Inc. v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

Michael Buschbacher, John Kendrick, Susan C. Morse, Molly Nixon, John F. Duffy

RTP's Fourth Branch Podcast

On February 20, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Corner Post,...

Deep Dive Episode 287 - Courthouse Steps Oral Argument: Corner Post, Inc. v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
RTP's Fourth Branch Podcast

Deep Dive Episode 287 - Courthouse Steps Oral Argument: Corner Post, Inc. v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

Michael Buschbacher, John Kendrick, Susan C. Morse, Molly Nixon, John F. Duffy

RTP's Fourth Branch Podcast

On February 20, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Corner Post,...

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FedSoc Events

DC-Wide FedSoc Rupe Debate - Crossing the Line: Are Agencies Defying the Constitution?

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