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Larry Steven Wilkins, et al. v. United States

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, No. 20-35745 · judgment September 15, 2021

Decided · March 28, 2023
Pre-decision estimate: 5% cert probability

Before the decision, roughly the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a Ninth Circuit decision below, a circuit split argued in the petition, and counsel who has filed here before.

Question presented

Two Montana landowners filed a quiet title action seeking to resolve a dispute over the scope of an easement held by the United States that runs across their land and the federal government's duties under the easement. The District Court held that the Quiet Title Act's statute of limitations is jurisdictional, found that the landowners did not prove that their claims arose within twelve years of the lawsuit being filed, and dismissed the case. The District Court's treatment of the statute of limitations as jurisdictional-rather than a claim-processing rule- subjected the landowners to different standards for resolving the motion to dismiss, allowing the court to dismiss the case without holding a hearing to determine and resolve disputed facts. In conflict with the Seventh Circuit, the Ninth Circuit affirmed, holding the Quiet Title Act's statute of limitations is jurisdictional. The question presented is: Whether the Quiet Title Act's Statute of Limitations is a jurisdictional requirement or a claim--processing rule?

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Jeffrey Wilson McCoy
Pacific Legal Foundation

For respondent
Elizabeth B. Prelogar
Solicitor General

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 2 conferences

Amicus briefs
1 merits
(1 supporting pet./neither)

Argument & decision

Argued November 30, 2022 — Jeffrey W. McCoy · Benjamin W. Snyder. Audio and transcript

Decided March 28, 2023. Opinion by Sotomayor.

Proceedings

  1. May 01 2023
    Judgment issued.
    Main Document
  2. Mar 28 2023
    Judgment REVERSED and case REMANDED. Sotomayor, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Kagan, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barrett, and Jackson, JJ., joined. Thomas, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which Roberts, C. J., and Alito, J., joined.
  3. Nov 30 2022
    Argued. For petitioners: Jeffrey W. McCoy, Sacramento, Cal. For respondent: Benjamin W. Snyder, Assistant to the Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C.
  4. Nov 01 2022
    Record received from the U.S.C.A. 9th Circuit. One sealed document transmitted electronically. The remaining record is available on PACER.
  5. Oct 28 2022
    Record requested from the U.S.C.A. 9th Circuit.
  6. Oct 25 2022
    CIRCULATED.
  7. Oct 20 2022
    Reply of petitioners Larry Steven Wilkins, et al. filed.
    Main DocumentCertificate of Word CountProof of Service
  8. Oct 18 2022
    SET FOR ARGUMENT on Wednesday, November 30, 2022.
  9. Oct 03 2022
    Motion for leave to file amici brief filed by National Federation of Independent Business Small Business Legal Center, et al. GRANTED.
  10. Sep 20 2022
    Brief of respondent United States filed.
    Main DocumentProof of Service
  11. Aug 11 2022
    Motion for leave to file amici brief filed by National Federation of Independent Business Small Business Legal Center, et al.
    Main DocumentProof of ServiceCertificate of Word Count
  12. Aug 11 2022
    Brief amici curiae of Local Government Organizations filed.
    Main DocumentCertificate of Word CountProof of Service
  13. Aug 04 2022
    Brief of petitioners Larry Steven Wilkins, et al. filed.
    Main DocumentCertificate of Word CountProof of Service
  14. Aug 04 2022
    Joint appendix filed. (Statement of costs filed)
    Main DocumentProof of Service
  15. Jul 06 2022
    Blanket Consent filed by Petitioner, Larry Steven Wilkins, et al.
    Blanket Consent
  16. Jun 30 2022
    Motion to extend the time to file the briefs on the merits granted. The time to file petitioners' brief on the merits and the joint appendix is extended to and including August 4, 2022. The time to file respondent's brief on the merits is extended to and including September 20, 2022.
  17. Jun 23 2022
    Motion for an extension of time to file the briefs on the merits filed.
    Main Document
  18. Jun 06 2022
    Petition GRANTED.
  19. May 31 2022
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/2/2022.
  20. May 10 2022
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/26/2022.
  21. May 05 2022
    Reply of petitioners Larry Steven Wilkins, et al. filed.
    Main DocumentCertificate of Word CountProof of Service
  22. Apr 25 2022
    Brief of respondent United States in opposition filed.
    Main DocumentCertificate of Word Count
  23. Mar 21 2022
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including April 25, 2022.
  24. Mar 17 2022
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from March 25, 2022 to April 25, 2022, submitted to The Clerk.
    Main Document
  25. Feb 18 2022
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due March 25, 2022)
    PetitionAppendixCertificate of Word CountProof of Service