Sebelius v. Cloer (12-236)

argument 12-236

Sebelius v. Cloer

Supreme Court of the United States 57 min 5 speakers 8 chapters transcribed 4 days ago official recording ↗

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What does the Vaccine Act say about attorney’s‑fee awards for untimely petitions?

John G. Roberts 0:01

We'll hear argument first this morning in case 12236, Sibelius versus Clore. Mr. Horitz?

Mr. Horwich 0:07

Mr. Chief Justice, and may it please the court that the Vaccine Act does not provide for an award of attorney's fees on a petition that is denied as untimely. That's the best reading of the Act's text. It fits best with the structure and purposes of the Act. And it's the result that's consistent with the canons of construction that would apply to an award of attorney's fees out of the Federal Treasury. Now the the textual question here in some sense begins with the statute of limitations. which is in section sixteen of the Act and which provides that uh no petition may be filed outside the applicable time period. Now that provision, like most limitations provisions, doesn't itself actually say what the consequences of the failure to comply with the provision are.

Mr. Horwich 0:49

Um and in some sense, uh just as in the uh the civil context, Um it's not as if the special master, upon finding the limitations provision hasn't been complied with, can go back in time and prevent the petition from being filed, just as a civil court can't prevent an action from being commenced or a suit from being brought or whatever the limitations provision prescribes. So the question really is going forward, what what consequences should there be once the adjudicator decides, once he or the special master decides that the limitations period has not been complied with? And textually speaking, it's the correspondence between the limitations provision which says that no petition may be filed. And the attorney spee provision, which depends on the existence of a petition filed,

Mr. Horwich 1:36

That signals that Congress intended the consequences of untimeliness to be visited through the application of the attorney.

Unknown 1:51

petition filed, for example, reporting annually to Congress, um uh publishing a notice in the federal register. Those both referred to any petition filed And so in those sections it makes petition filed would include Petition filed after the running of the statute of limitations.

Mr. Horwich 2:15

Well those provisions would those provisions by their terms apply at points in the proceedings where we would enti entirely conventionally, except the uh the claimant's representation that the petition has been filed in accordance with the time limitation. That's generally true, certainly in the civil context, that we accept the plaintiff's application. Don't you

Unknown 2:38

don't you put in the Federal Register and report to Congress? petitions that have been filed out of time.

Mr. Horwich 2:45

Well w with respect to with respect to reporting to to Congress, that that's actually an obligation from the the Court of Federal Claims, so I can't necessarily speak on their behalf of what they what they produce. From what I have seen.

Mr. Horwich 3:09

has not been complying with that provision for the last few years and they are taking steps to bring themselves to

Unknown 3:16

the Federal Register.

Mr. Horwich 3:18

Well, it th they they have historically and let me uh uh up till about two thousand nine and and again I'm uh to be clear they're taking steps to rectify that situation. But with respect to the period up to two thousand nine, what they would do and this is understandable given the the provision uh that says it's uh supposed to be published within the I believe it's thirty days that they uh the petitions that are received or that were received at the department get logged into a computer database and then a report gets printed out and they would cross check them for accuracy against the petition title and forward them to the Office of the Federal Register. It's not it it it doesn't S it wouldn't make sense in a provision that's supposed to be applied.

Mr. Horwich 4:00

essentially upon the filing of the petition, to go into an examination of the timeliness of that of that petition. And so we think that provision, just as you would just as you would describe in a civil context, You would certainly say that an action that ultimately proves to be held untimely was nonetheless commenced, if for example, if we imagine a statute of limitations that says no action may be commenced.