U.S. Supreme Court Ends Chevron Deference

On June 28, 2024, the Supreme Court of the United States jettisoned the Chevron doctrine, overruling a 40-year-old case that had long served as the foundation for American administrative law. In the consolidated opinion in Loper Bright Enterprises, Inc. v. Raimondo and Relentless, Inc. v. Department of Commerce, the Supreme Court declared that, instead of deferring to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, courts now must exercise their "independent judgment" to determine whether an agency acted within its statutory authority.

Although the Court held that Loper Bright Enterprises does "not call into question prior cases that relied on the Chevron framework," it will still likely create waves for every federally regulated industry in the United States. How much of an impact this decision will have will likely be discussed for years to come. In the meantime, companies are encouraged to review any recently issued regulations to determine if the agency acted