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No. 25-1332October Term 2025Petition PendingUpdated Sep 2, 2026

Docket 25-1332October Term 2025 (2025–2026)

Larry Steven Wilkins v. United States

Larry Steven Wilkins asks the Court to review a Ninth Circuit ruling involving his quiet-title claim against the United States under the Quiet Title Act.

Case status

Current stage
Petition Pending
Latest event
Petition pending
Next
Awaiting an order on the petitionNo decision timeline until the Court agrees to hear the case.
Petition PendingNot granted
ArgumentsNot scheduled
Decision ReleasedNot scheduled
What it's about

Larry Steven Wilkins asks the Court to review a Ninth Circuit ruling involving his quiet-title claim against the United States under the Quiet Title Act. The petition argues that, after the Court’s 2023 decision that the Act’s filing deadline is not jurisdictional, the Ninth Circuit wrongly treated earlier rulings as controlling and measured the claim’s accrual from private citizens’ actions rather than actions by federal officials.

Question presented

1. Does the law of the case doctrine apply when this Court reverses a lower court’s judgment? 2. Does a property owner’s quiet title claim under the Quiet Title Act accrue based on the illegal and unauthorized actions of private citizens, rather than the actions of government officials?

Case path

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit / Petition pending

Area

Petition for review pending

Briefing

What it's about

Larry Steven Wilkins asks whether an earlier Supreme Court reversal controls later proceedings in the same case. He also questions whether a property owner's Quiet Title Act claim can begin to expire because of private citizens' actions rather than federal officials' actions.

Argument

The petition is pending, and oral argument has not been scheduled.

Impact

The case could affect property owners challenging the federal government's claimed interest in land. For example, it could shape when an owner must file a claim after actions involving a road or other use of property.

What's next

Watch for the Court to grant or deny certiorari (its decision whether to hear the case), or for another scheduling order. No decision window is available yet.

What is at stake in Wilkins v. United States?

The case concerns when a landowner's Quiet Title Act claim can expire and whether a prior Supreme Court reversal controls later proceedings.

Who could be affected by the Wilkins case?

Property owners who challenge a federal claim to land could be affected. The case may clarify when they must bring those claims.

What happens next in Wilkins v. United States?

The Court will decide whether to hear the petition. Oral argument has not been scheduled, and no decision window is available.

Activity

Docket activity2
  • AI analysis generated: Case Briefing

    Sep 2, 2026 | Generated

  • Brief added: Petition

    May 27, 2026 | Court records

Grounding

Grounding
Primary materials plus reporting.
Note
Best-effort analysis: this explainer relies on a mix of primary materials and trusted secondary sources. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.
Checked
Sep 2, 2026
Primary materials5
Context reporting3