On November 29, 2023, the United States Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments in a critical case, Jarkesy v. Securities and Exchange Commission. This case throws the spotlight on the use of administrative law judges (ALJs) by federal agencies, an issue at the core of a constitutional challenge by the respondents. This case…
On September 8, 2023, the world of corporate law watched as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) declared that its administrative law judge had handed down an Initial Decision and Order in the FTC’s lawsuit against computer software company, Intuit. This stems from allegations that Intuit had deceptively marketed the availability of free tax return preparation…
In its 2023 term, the U.S. Supreme Court will undertake the hearing of a potentially transformative case, Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo (Case no. 22-451). At the centre of this proceedings is the request of the appellants for the highest court in the land to reconsider and, they hope, reverse the decision that was made…
In a move that is anticipated to have far-reaching implications for federal regulatory agencies, the American Bar Association (ABA) recently released a recording of a live program on the Supreme Court’s revisiting of the Chevron judicial deference framework. The announcement was shared via JDSupra. The program titled, “U.S. Supreme Court to Revisit Chevron Deference: What…
Seemingly calm waters could turn turbulent as the Supreme Court of the United States recently agreed to revisit a significant judicial precedent, namely the Chevron doctrine. Under this doctrine, courts defer to a federal agency’s reasonable interpretation of any ambiguous statute that has been handed over by the US Congress to the agency to manage….
In a significant development, the Alberta Court of Appeal has upheld the decision to quash the decision of the Alberta Minister of Energy under Alberta’s oil sands royalty regime (OSR Regime). The case, Shell Canada Limited v. Alberta (Energy), marks the initial appellate-level interpretation of the OSR Regime. Fundamentally, the court’s decision demonstrates the willingness…
Legal professionals, particularly those in large corporations and law firms, may well be aware of an important precedent in administrative law: Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. This Supreme Court decision, which dates back to 1984, introduced the concept of “Chevron deference” into legal parlance. The essence of “Chevron deference” lies in…
The U.S. Supreme Court is poised to review a doctrine that has been a cornerstone of administrative law for nearly four decades, with implications for agencies at all levels of government. At the center of this review is the principle of Chevron deference, first established in the Court’s 1984 decision in Chevron v. NRDC, which…
In recent legal news, the Supreme Court of the United States has granted certiorari in four cases on October 13, 2023. This recent turn of events could have significant implications for the way in which the Chevron deference doctrine is applied and interpreted. Most notably, one of those cases is Relentless, Inc. v. Department of…
The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear a pair of cases early next year that poses challenges to the long-established Chevron doctrine, a cornerstone of administrative law that has guided judicial deference to federal administrative agencies’ interpretation of the statutes they oversee for nearly forty years. The arguments contend the Chevron doctrine’s validity, and…
In recent years, independent agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have seen precedent-setting legal challenges that could have a ripple effect across the corporate legal landscape. Perhaps the most notable of these involves Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy, a case that raised pressing questions about the…
In a significant turn of events, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear another case, this time, Relentless Inc. v. U.S. Department of Commerce, which puts to question whether the court should renegotiate its 1984 ruling in Chevron, U.S.A., Inc. v. Nat. Res. Def. Council, Inc. The story was reported last Friday on JD…
U.S. Supreme Court Justices are gearing up for what could be a significant legal battle as they’ve agreed to consider a challenge to the “Chevron deference”, a doctrine that instructs judges to defer to federal agencies. The challenge was posed in the case of Relentless Inc. v. Department of Commerce. The court’s decision to grant…
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday made a noteworthy expansion to its docket, adding a second case that challenges a long-established principle known as the Chevron deference. This doctrine is essentially a guide to lower courts, instructing them to default to federal agencies’ interpretations of ambiguous laws. This case, yet unnamed, joins an almost identical…
In a landmark argument recently, a hedge fund manager levelled a challenge against the constitutionality of administrative law judges overseeing securities fraud actions. The allegation is that these presiding judges, appointed directly by regulators, are unsuitable for deciding penalty-carrying cases, as these necessitate a constitutionally-guaranteed jury trial. These arguments were laid out before the US…
The legal victory of Grayscale in their recent dispute, Grayscale Investments v. SEC, over a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) decision has stirred discussions within legal and crypto walls. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that the Securities and Exchange Commission acted unlawfully in denying Grayscale’s application for a Bitcoin ETF. The…
In a series of key news developments, high-profile individuals and prevailing legal doctrines face scrutiny and potential transformation impacting both historical perception and possible future practice. An interesting instance involves Sam Bankman-Fried, who finds himself embroiled in a significant multi-billion dollar fraud trial. In an intriguing twist to the global media’s depiction of the trial,…
On October 3, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court began hearing oral arguments in a key case for the legal and financial community: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Community Financial Services Association of America. The question at hand is whether the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) current funding mechanism has a firm base in the constitution….
In a recent legal development, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed a lawsuit on September 27, 2023, challenging the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) computation of the standardized amount used in calculating Medicare Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) payments. In this central case, the presiding Judge, Royce Lamberth…
The 23rd annual conference on Advanced Administrative Law & Practice invites legal practitioners from across Canada and sectors worldwide. The conference, scheduled for October 24th – 25th in Ottawa, ON, Canada, is a landmark event catering to the evolving demands of Canada’s administrative law sector. The conference serves as a platform where industry professionals can…
In a pivotal move, the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in June 2023 to grant certiorari in SEC v. Jarkesy has brought into focus the SEC’s power to enforce remedies and penalties before its own administrative law judges. This comes with serious implications. Should this appeal prove successful, it threatens to severely curtail the SEC’s ability…
In a notable ruling, a New York Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) affirmed the denial of a Clean Air Act Title V permit renewal for Greenidge Generation, LLC (“GGL”). The company had applied to renew a Title V air permit for the continued functioning of a natural gas-fired electric generating facility in the Town of Torrey,…
Recent successful challenges against “administrative state” powers at the U.S. Supreme Court hint toward an imminent crescendo in the high court’s new term. A legal crusade, which has been systematically collecting victories against agency enforcers and regulators, is primed to convert these piecemeal wins into a defining triumph, particularly in a term already filled with…
Experts continue to analyze and adapt to the intricacies of the evolving landscape of administrative law. This area of law significantly impacts businesses, specifically those subjected to governmental regulations. One can view the constant changes as a vast, regulatory labyrinth that businesses must navigate diligently and skillfully. Administrative law’s frequent shifts often spawn industry-specific questions…
Health groups, scientists, a labor union, small businesses and environmentalists have issued an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, advocating for the preservation of a nearly four-decade-old precedent known as the Chevron Doctrine. This doctrine allows judges to defer to federal agencies’ interpretations of laws in cases involving rulemaking disputes. The Chevron Doctrine, material in…