Supreme Court Extends Statute of Limitations for Challenging Regulations

In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court extended the timeframe in which regulations can be challenged. The decision in Corner Post v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System broadens the interpretation of the six-year statute of limitations for challenging federal agency actions. Previously, this statute was interpreted to prevent challenges brought more than six years after a rule was finalized. However, the Supreme Court has now ruled that a plaintiff can bring a suit up to six years from the date they are injured by the regulation, potentially allowing challenges at any time.

The case involved a truck stop in North Dakota, Corner Post, which sought to challenge a 2011 Federal Reserve regulation on debit card swipe fees. Although the rule was upheld by a federal appeals court a decade ago, Corner Post, which opened in 2018, argued it should still be allowed to challenge the regulation. The Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision supports this view, indicating that the six-year limitation begins when the plaintiff is affected by the regulation, not when the rule is finalized.