Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo

On June 28, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered its ruling in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo. The plaintiffs, commercial fishing companies, challenged a National Marine Fisheries Service rule requiring them to pay for onboard federal observers. They argued that the underlying statute did not explicitly authorize such fees. In a 6-3 decision, the Court explicitly overruled the 1984 Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council doctrine, which had compelled courts to defer to federal agencies' reasonable interpretations of ambiguous laws. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority, holding that the Administrative Procedure Act requires courts to exercise independent judgment when interpreting statutes, ending decades of agency deference.

The Supreme Court overruled the Chevron doctrine in a 6-3 vote, holding that courts must independently interpret statutory ambiguity rather than defer to administrative agencies. The lower court decisions were vacated and remanded for further proceedings consistent with this new standard.

Whether the court should overrule Chevron deference, and whether the National Marine Fisheries Service had statutory authority to mandate that fishing vessels pay for monitoring observers.

The decision significantly curtails federal regulatory power across environmental, health, financial, and labor sectors, making agency rules more vulnerable to judicial challenge. It shifts the balance of power by requiring Congress to draft more precise legislation and is expected to generate increased litigation against agency interpretations nationwide.