On February 3, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of client Manfredo Salinas, a retired railroad worker who has fought for years to get disability benefits for injuries he sustained on the job. In November 2020, partner Sarah Harris argued before the Court in Salinas v. United States Railroad Retirement Board, which involves whether courts of appeals have jurisdiction to review the Railroad Retirement Board’s decisions denying requests to reopen a prior benefits determination. In the 5-4 opinion authored by Justice Sotomayor, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Mr. Salinas, holding that the Board’s refusal to reopen a prior denial of benefits is subject to judicial review. The decision will have profound consequences for railroad workers like Mr. Salinas, who often depend on disability benefits to support their families, and represents important precedent on the availability of judicial review to check agency mistakes.  
 
Partners Lisa Blatt and Sarah Harris led the legal strategy. Other members of the team included Luke McCloud, Bob Belden, Ricardo Leyva and alum Thomas Chapman.
 
Click here to read coverage by Law360 and here for coverage by The National Law Journal.
Click here to read the U.S. Supreme Court opinion in Salinas v. United States Railroad Retirement Board.