The Administrative Procedures Act (the APA”) does not have its own statute of limitations, but case law has held the general six-year federal statute of limitations, in 28 U.S.C. § 2401(a), applies to challenges to administrative regulations. At issue was a regulation that set the amount that could be charged by a provider for debit card services. The pertinent regulation had been passed in 2011, and provided that the maximum interchange fees (the amount debit card issues could charge merchants for using its service) was $0.21 per transaction plus .05% of the transactions value. The plaintiff challenged this rule (Regulation II) facially. The plaintiff did not exist until 2018, seven years after the regulation had become effective. The agency who passed the regulation moved to dismiss, arguing the claim was time-barred.
In Corner Post, Inc. v. Bd. Of Governors of the Fed. Rsrv. Sys., 144 S. Ct. 2440 (2024), the Supreme Court held that an APA claim does not accrue under the statute of limitations, 28 U.S.C. § 2401(a), until the plaintiff is actually injured by a final agency action. That section provides that civil actions against the United States “shall be barred unless the complaint is filed within six years after the right of action first accrues.” The Court reasoned that § 2401(a) did not in any way indicate that it was designed to protect defendants rather than plaintiffs. Because the plaintiff had filed suit within six years after it was allegedly injured, its suit was timely. In reaching its conclusion, the Court relied on the language of the statute and its history.
By The Editors