No. 18-15October Term 2018Decided Jun 26, 2019
Kisor v. Wilkie
This case arose after Vietnam veteran James Kisor sought earlier effective-date disability benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs and the lower courts deferred to the VA’s reading of its own regulation.
Case status
- Current stage
- Decided
- Latest event
- Decision released Jun 26, 2019
- What it's about
This case arose after Vietnam veteran James Kisor sought earlier effective-date disability benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs and the lower courts deferred to the VA’s reading of its own regulation. The Supreme Court took the case to decide whether courts should keep following the Auer/Seminole Rock rule that gives agencies deference when interpreting genuinely ambiguous regulations.
Question presented
1. Whether the Court should overrule Auer and Seminole Rock. 2. Alternatively, whether Auer deference should yield to a substantive canon of construction.
- Case path
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit / Decision released Jun 26, 2019
- Area
Decided Supreme Court case
Timing
Decided June 26, 2019
The Court released its decision on June 26, 2019 without hearing oral argument.
Related cases




Grounding
- Grounding
- Primary-source trail available.
- Note
- Plain-English explainer. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.
- Checked
- Jul 3, 2026
- Method
- Methodology