The retailer opened and operated a convenience store and truck stop that allowed customers to make debit card transactions. In 2011, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (“the agency”) promulgated Regulation II pursuant to statutory authority. Regulation II allowed “a maximum interchange fee of 21 cents per debit-card transaction and an ad volorem allowance of 0.05 percent of the transaction.” The retailer joined a lawsuit challenging the debit-card transaction fees of Regulation II on the grounds that the fees were “arbitrary and capricious” under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) and violated the Durbin Amendment to the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010. The regulatory agency filed a motion to dismiss based on the statute of limitations provided in 28 U.S.C. § 2401(a), which states that claims against the United States must be “filed within six years after the right of action first accrues.” The district court, affirmed by the Eight Circuit, held the limitations began to accrue upon the publication of the regulation in 2011 and dismissed the retailer’s claims.
In N.D. Retail Ass’n v. Bd. Of Governors, 113 F.4th 1027 (8th Cir. 2024), the Eighth Circuit, at the direction of the Supreme Court, vacated its earlier opinion affirming the dismissal of the retailer’s claims. The Supreme Court had reversed the Eighth Circuit’s judgment to clarify that the six-year statute of limitations begins to accrue at the time of injury by the regulatory agency action, not the date of the issuance. Corner Post, Inc. v. Bd. of Governors of Fed. Reserve Sys., 144 S. Ct. 2440, 2460 (2024). Because the retailer filed suit within six years of the injury, the party was not barred from pursuing an action against the agency. The Eight Circuit remanded the case to the district court for further proceedings consistent with this decision.
By Taylor O’Brien [email protected]
Edited By Nura Elhentaty [email protected]
Edited By Kristin Meurer [email protected]