Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Thomas H. Buffington v. Denis R. McDonough, Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, No. 2020-1479 · judgment August 6, 2021
Before the decision, roughly the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a circuit split argued in the petition, a dissent in the court below (flagged in the petition), and a Federal Circuit decision below.
Questions presented
This Court has repeatedly held that when assessing whether to defer to an agency’s interpretation of a statute under Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. courts must apply all “traditional tools of statutory construction” at Step One of the analysis. 467 U.S. 837, 843 n.9 (1984). Here, the Federal Circuit refused to apply the pro-veteran canon of construction—an interpretive tool that this Court has regularly invoked for nearly 80 years—when assessing petitioner’s statutory right to resume disability benefits after finishing a period of active duty. The Federal Circuit then deferred to the Department of Veterans Affairs’ implausible construction of the relevant statutes, thereby depriving petitioner of nearly three years of disability benefits to which he was legally entitled. The questions presented are:
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Whether the Chevron doctrine permits courts to defer to VA’s construction of a statute designed to benefit veterans, without first considering the proveteran canon of construction.
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Whether Chevron should be overruled.
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Richard A. Samp
New Civil Liberties Alliance
For respondent
Elizabeth B. Prelogar
Solicitor General
Argument & decision
Decided November 7, 2022.
Proceedings
- Nov 07 2022Petition DENIED. Justice Gorsuch, dissenting from the denial of certiorari. (Detached Opinion)
- Oct 31 2022DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/4/2022.
- Oct 24 2022DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/28/2022.
- Oct 11 2022DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/14/2022.
- Oct 03 2022DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/7/2022.
- Sep 12 2022DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/28/2022.
- Jun 21 2022DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/23/2022.
- Jun 21 2022Rescheduled.
- Jun 16 2022Rescheduled.
- Jun 13 2022DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/16/2022.
- Jun 07 2022Rescheduled.
- Jun 06 2022DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/9/2022.
- May 31 2022DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/2/2022.
- May 31 2022Rescheduled.
- May 24 2022Rescheduled.
- May 23 2022DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/26/2022.
- May 17 2022Rescheduled.
- May 16 2022DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/19/2022.
- May 05 2022Rescheduled.
- Apr 26 2022DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/12/2022.
- Apr 26 2022Reply of petitioner Thomas H. Buffington filed. (Distributed)
- Apr 08 2022Brief of respondent Denis R. McDonough, Secretary of Veterans Affairs in opposition filed.
- Mar 04 2022Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including April 8, 2022.
- Mar 03 2022Motion to extend the time to file a response from March 9, 2022 to April 8, 2022, submitted to The Clerk.
- Feb 07 2022Brief amici curiae of Indiana, et al. filed.
- Feb 07 2022Brief amici curiae of Military-Veterans Advocacy, et al. filed.
- Feb 07 2022Brief amici curiae of Cato Institute and the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, Inc. filed.
- Feb 07 2022Brief amici curiae of Senators Tom Cotton, Marsha Blackburn, Kevin Cramer, and Ted Cruz filed.
- Feb 04 2022Brief amicus curiae of Concerned Veterans for America Foundation filed.
- Jan 14 2022Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including March 9, 2022.
- Jan 12 2022Motion to extend the time to file a response from February 7, 2022 to March 9, 2022, submitted to The Clerk.
- Jan 03 2022Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due February 7, 2022)
- Nov 30 2021Application (21A113) granted by The Chief Justice extending the time to file until January 3, 2022.
- Nov 22 2021Application (21A113) to extend further the time from December 6, 2021 to January 3, 2022, submitted to The Chief Justice.
- Oct 27 2021Application (21A113) granted by The Chief Justice extending the time to file until December 6, 2021.
- Oct 22 2021Application (21A113) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from November 4, 2021 to December 6, 2021, submitted to The Chief Justice.