Buffington v. McDonough

 
DOCKET NO.
OP. BELOW
SUBJECT
Veterans

Question(s) 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:”

  1. “Whether the Chevron doctrine permits courts to defer to VA’s construction of a statute designed to benefit veterans, without first considering the pro-veteran canon of construction.”
  2. “Whether Chevron should be overruled.”

Posts About this Case

Date
Proceedings and Orders
October 27, 2021
Application (21A113) granted by The Chief Justice extending the time to file until December 6, 2021.
November 22, 2021
Application (21A113) to extend further the time from December 6, 2021 to January 3, 2022, submitted to The Chief Justice.
November 30, 2021
Application (21A113) granted by The Chief Justice extending the time to file until January 3, 2022.
January 14, 2022
Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including March 9, 2022.
March 4, 2022
Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including April 8, 2022.
April 26, 2022
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/12/2022.
May 5, 2022
Rescheduled.
May 16, 2022
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/19/2022.
May 17, 2022
Rescheduled.
May 23, 2022
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/26/2022.
May 24, 2022
Rescheduled.
May 31, 2022
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/2/2022.
May 31, 2022
Rescheduled.
June 6, 2022
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/9/2022.
June 7, 2022
Rescheduled.
June 13, 2022
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/16/2022.
June 16, 2022
Rescheduled.
June 21, 2022
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/23/2022.
June 21, 2022
Rescheduled.
September 12, 2022
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/28/2022.
October 3, 2022
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/7/2022.
October 11, 2022
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/14/2022.
October 24, 2022
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/28/2022.
October 31, 2022
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/4/2022.
November 7, 2022
Petition DENIED. Justice Gorsuch, dissenting from the denial of certiorari. (Detached Opinion)