Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Chevron deference in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, legal experts anticipate a surge of disputes in lower courts regarding challenges to pre-Loper agency rules. For decades, Chevron deference had mandated that courts defer to an agency’s reasonable interpretation of ambiguous statutes. This principle has supported thousands of agency actions since its establishment in 1984, affecting regulations in various sectors such as the environment and public health.
“I think we have a bit of uncertainty as to what happens as to prior adjudication that rested on Chevron,” said Paul Hughes of McDermott Will & Emery, underscoring the potential for significant legal contention.