The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a second case, Relentless, Inc. v. U.S. Department of Commerce, which questions whether the Court should override its 1984 Chevron decision. The Chevron framework, established by the decision, is a two-step analysis used by courts when reviewing a federal agency’s interpretation of a statute. This comes after the Supreme Court granted the certiorari petition in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, where the petitioners also urged the Court to overturn Chevron. Both cases involve a National Marine Fisheries Service regulation that requires certain vessels to pay for federal observers they are required to carry.
In both Relentless and Loper, the petitioners, who own fishing vessels, contested the NMFS regulation, claiming it exceeded the agency’s authority under the Magnuson-Stevens Act. However, the district courts, utilizing the Chevron framework, upheld the NMFS regulation. The D.C. Circuit panel, divided in Loper, and the First Circuit panel in Relentless both affirmed the district courts’ decisions.
It is believed that the Supreme Court granted the certiorari petition in Relentless to allow Justice Jackson to participate in the case, as she had recused herself from Loper due to her previous service on the D.C. Circuit. The Court has directed the Clerk to establish a briefing schedule for both cases, indicating its intention to hear oral arguments in January 2024. These developments signal the Supreme Court’s scrutiny of the judicial deference given to federal agencies and its potential impact on the consumer financial services industry.
