Farewell to Chevron Deference

One of the many controversial opinions coming from the Supreme Court at the end of its term was Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, No. 22-451 (6/28/24) which abolished what is known as Chevron deference. The commentators on the podcasts that I listen to were aghast that the Supreme Court felt that judges should hold themselves out to make difficult decisions as to clean air and water or whether to approve a prescription drug when there were agencies who had expertise in these areas.  Several commentators pointed out that it might not be a good idea to rely on federal judges to make scientific determinations after Justice Gorsuch confused nitrous oxide with nitrogen oxide in another case.  \

Supreme Court Nixes Non-Consensual Third-Party Releases

In an opinion that resolves decades of circuit court splits, the Supreme Court ruled against allowing nonconsensual third-party releases. Harrington v. Purdue Pharma, LP, No. 23-124 (6/27/24) which can be found here.  While the opinion is emphatic in its rejection of extra-textual plan provisions, the 5-4 ruling and numerous caveats mean this won't be the last time creative lawyers will be testing the limits of the Code.