The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in favor of small business owners in the case of Corner Post, Inc. v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, determining when the six-year statute of limitations to challenge an agency rule under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) begins.
"Small business owners shouldn’t be denied the right to challenge government regulations and we’re glad to see the Supreme Court agrees," said Beth Milito, Executive Director of NFIB’s Small Business Legal Center. "Unreasonable government regulations are consistently a top issue for small business owners and today’s decision will allow owners to challenge them as they see fit. NFIB applauds the Court for reversing the judgment of the Eighth Circuit and correcting the majority rule."
NFIB filed an amicus brief in conjunction with the Restaurant Law Center, the Buckeye Institute, and the Manhattan Institute. The brief argued that publication of a final agency rule cannot injure non-existent entities and that newly-formed entities are not injured by an agency’s final rule until they are in operation and subject to it. The Court concurred, stating that injury and finality requirements to sue under the APA are distinct.
The NFIB Small Business Legal Center advocates for small business owners' rights in courts nationwide and is currently active in over 40 cases across federal and state courts, including those before the U.S. Supreme Court.
