Corner Post, Inc. v. Bd. of Governors, Federal Reserve System

Issue

Whether a new business can challenge an agency regulation that is more than six years old, if the rule first started affecting the business upon opening.

November 20, 2023

In our amici curiae brief, we argue that multiple federal appellate courts have routinely denied justice on procedural grounds by preventing entrepreneurs and new businesses the ability to challenge agency regulations more than six years old, even if the rule first started affecting them upon opening. In doing so, these courts deny justice by preventing new entities from vindicating their legal rights and we are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to adopt the proper legal reading adopted by the Sixth Circuit, which starts running the statute of limitations from the time a new entity was first “aggrieved.”

July 1, 2024

In a 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed with our arguments and held that a claim under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) accrues, for purposes of the six-year statute of limitations in 28 U.S.C. § 2401(a), when a plaintiff is injured by a final agency action—not when the agency action itself becomes final. This ruling significantly benefits regulated entities, including restaurants, by allowing them greater flexibility in challenging unlawful government regulations. Businesses are no longer barred from bringing APA claims simply because the regulation was issued more than six years ago; instead, they may sue within six years of experiencing harm from the regulation.