High Court Gives Appeal Deadline Certainty In Contract Suits

Partner Bob Christenson  was quoted in the Law360 article "High Court Gives Appeal Deadline Certainty In Contract Suits," on January 15, 2014.

A unanimous U.S. Supreme Court ruling took place on January 15, 2014. The ruling clarified the deadline for appealing a decision that leaves a contractual request for attorneys' fees pending.

The  ruling held that its 26-year-old decision in Budinich v. Becton Dickinson & Co. applied even when the bid for fees was based on a contract rather than a statute.

Because the ruling touches a fundamental jurisdictional question, its impact will be felt not just in Employee Retirement Income Security Act cases, but also in other contract litigation, the article suggested.

“Because the case is primarily about appellate jurisdiction, the decision has significant applications outside the ERISA sphere,” according to Bob.