Claims Court Should Decide Timeliness Issue Despite Waiver, High Court Rules
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the government’s failure to raise the issue of a blown statute of limitations in a takings case filed in the Court of Federal Claims did not bar a decision on the issue.
The court held that timeliness is a jurisdictional limit that cannot be waived by the government, SCOTUSblog reports. The special statute of limitations governing the court requires sua sponte consideration, Justice Stephen G. Breyer wrote for the court in the 7-2 decision.
The petitioner had claimed that actions of the Environmental Protection Agency were an unconstitutional taking under its lease. The opinion (PDF posted by SCOTUSblog) is John R. Sand & Gravel Co. v. United States. The government effectively waived the limitations issue, but it was raised in an amicus brief before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
