In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that federal courts can review decisions by the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board denying claimants’ requests to reopen prior benefits denials. Salinas v. U.S. R.R. Ret. Bd., No. 19-199 (Feb. 3, 2021).

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, writing for the majority, explained the relevant provision of the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA) makes judicial review available under that statute to the same extent that review is available under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA). Thus, the case turned on the plain meaning of the RUIA’s judicial review provision in Section 355(f). Section 355(f) provides that any claimant, certain railway labor organizations, certain of the claimant’s employers, or “any other party aggrieved by a final decision under [§355(c)]” may obtain court review “of any final decision of the Board.”

The majority construed the broad phrase “any final decision,” as referring to “some kind of terminal event” and an agency action from which legal consequences will flow. The Court concluded that the Board’s denial of the claimant’s request to reopen his claim met those criteria: the denial was the “terminal event” in the Board’s administrative review process and it affected rights and obligations under the RRA. Thus, the Board’s denial was subject to judicial review. In reaching that decision, the majority also cited the strong presumption favoring judicial review of administrative action. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan, and Brett Kavanaugh joined in the majority opinion.

Justice Clarence Thomas authored a dissenting opinion, which was joined by Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett. The dissenting opinion asserted that the case should turn on the RRA’s judicial review provision, which references the RUIA to explain how to obtain judicial review, but separately defines what may be reviewed.

The Court’s decision resolves a long-standing split among the Circuit Courts of Appeals on this issue.

Please contact a team member or the Jackson Lewis attorney with whom you regularly work if you have questions about this case or need assistance.

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Photo of Lindsey H. Chopin Lindsey H. Chopin

Lindsey H. Chopin is a principal in the New Orleans, Louisiana, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. and a member of the firm’s ERISA Complex Class Action, Employee Benefits and Class Action groups.

Lindsey focuses her practice on the defense of complex ERISA class-actions…

Lindsey H. Chopin is a principal in the New Orleans, Louisiana, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. and a member of the firm’s ERISA Complex Class Action, Employee Benefits and Class Action groups.

Lindsey focuses her practice on the defense of complex ERISA class-actions filed against public and private single employer ERISA plan sponsors and fiduciaries, as well as multi-employer plans and fiduciaries and ERISA plan services providers. She has litigated a wide variety of class action claims, including 401(k) fee claims, stock drop claims, defined benefit mortality assumption claims, “church plan” and “government plan” claims, health and welfare plan claims, and ERISA Section 510 claims. Lindsey also litigates ERISA benefit claims and claims involving non-ERISA plans.

Lindsey is the author of several ERISA-related articles, including an article focusing on ERISA fee litigation that appeared in the Benefits Law Journal, and is a frequent speaker on ERISA and class action litigation issues, including e-discovery best practices and ethics and professionalism when using social media in litigation. She is a senior editor of Chapter 15 of Bloomberg BNA’s Employee Benefits Law treatise and a contributing author to the ERISA Fiduciary Answers Book and Chapter 39 of the sixth edition of Bloomberg BNA’s ERISA Litigation treatise published in November 2017.

Prior to joining Jackson Lewis, Lindsey practiced complex ERISA litigation for five years at a large, national firm and served as a one-year term clerk for the Honorable Carl J. Barbier in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

While attending Loyola University School of Law, Lindsey was the articles and symposium editor of the Loyola Law Review and received the “Best Casenote Award” for her casenote analyzing the impact of Kasten v. St. Gobain Performance Plastics Corp., 563 U.S. 1 (2011), an FLSA matter decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Prior to attending law school and practicing law, Lindsey was a teachNOLA fellow and taught high school French in New Orleans’ public schools.

Photo of Stacey C.S. Cerrone Stacey C.S. Cerrone

Stacey C.S. Cerrone is a principal and office litigation manager of the New Orleans, Louisiana office of Jackson Lewis P.C. and a core member of the Employee Benefits and the ERISA Complex Litigation practice teams. Her nationwide practice focuses on the defense of…

Stacey C.S. Cerrone is a principal and office litigation manager of the New Orleans, Louisiana office of Jackson Lewis P.C. and a core member of the Employee Benefits and the ERISA Complex Litigation practice teams. Her nationwide practice focuses on the defense of complex ERISA class actions filed against public and private single employer ERISA plan sponsors and fiduciaries, as well as multi-employer plans and fiduciaries and ERISA plan services providers. Stacey litigates a wide variety of class action claims, including 401(k) fee claims, stock drop claims, “church plan” and “government plan” claims, health and welfare plan claims, and ERISA Section 510 claims.  She also litigates ERISA benefit claims and claims involving non-ERISA plans.