No. 17-10833

________________

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT

__________________

R. ALEXANDER ACOSTA, Secretary, U.S. Department of Labor,

Plaintiff-Appellant,

v.

ROBERT N. PRESTON,

 Defendants-Appellees.

__________________

On Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Northern District of Georgia

__________________

SECRETARY OF LABOR'S REPLY BRIEF

__________________

NICHOLAS C. GEALE THOMAS TSO

Acting Solicitor of Labor Counsel for Appellate

and Special Litigation

G. WILLIAM SCOTT STEPHEN SILVERMAN

Associate Solicitor Senior Trial Attorney

for Plan Benefits Security U.S. Department of Labor

200 Constitution Ave., N.W., N-4611

Washington, D.C. 20210

(202) 693-5623
C-1

U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT

CERTIFICATE OF INTERESTED PERSONS 

PURSUANT TO 11th Cir. R. 26.1-1

Acosta, R. Alexander, Secretary, U.S. Department of Labor

Colon, Isabel, Regional Director, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. 

Department of Labor, Atlanta

Egemonye, Uche, MSHA Counsel, U.S. Department of Labor, Atlanta

Flint, David H.

Flint, Michael D.

Wall, Jeffrey B., Acting Solicitor General of the United States

Geale, Nicholas C., Acting Solicitor of Labor

Keen, Stanley, Regional Solicitor, U.S. Department of Labor, Atlanta

Hauser, Timothy D., Deputy Assistant Secretary for Program Operations, 

Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor

LaVoie, Andrew J.

Lewis, Robert, ERISA Counsel, U.S. Department of Labor, Atlanta

Preston, Robert N.

Schreeder, Wheeler & Flint, LLP

Scott, G. William, Associate Solicitor, U.S. Department of Labor

Silverman, Stephen A., Senior Trial Attorney, U.S. Department of Labor

TPP Holdings, Inc. d/b/a The Preston Partnership, LLC
C-2

TPP Holdings, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan

Tso, Thomas, Counsel for U.S. Department of Labor

Walker, Amy, Senior Trial Attorney, U.S. Department of Labor, Atlanta

*No publicly traded company or corporation has an interest in the outcome of this 

matter*
i 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

 Page

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES ....................................................................................ii 

INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 1 

ARGUMENT............................................................................................................ 2 

I. The Court Reviews the Certified Question of Law De Novo......................... 2 

II. The Analytical Framework Established by Pugh Applies to this Case.......... 4 

III. Defendants Improperly Contend That “Magic Words” Can Create 

Jurisdictional Status........................................................................................ 7 

IV. Defendants Rely on Inapposite Cases Concerning Equitable Tolling that Do 

Not Alter this Court’s Analysis of Section 1113(1) .................................... 12

V. The Secretary's Arguments Have Not Been Waived.................................... 14

Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 18

Certificate of Service .............................................................................................. 20

Certificate of Compliance With Rule 32(a)............................................................ 21
ii

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES

Federal Cases: Page

American Canoe Ass'n, Inc. v. City of Attalla,

363 F.3d 1085 (11th Cir. 2004) ..............................................................................8

Arbaugh v. Y&H Corp.,

546 U.S. 500 (2006)................................................................................... 5, 10, 11

Arizona v. California,

530 U.S. 392 (2000)..............................................................................................10

Betty K Agencies, Ltd. v. M/V MONADA,

432 F.3d 1333 (11th Cir. 2005) ........................................................................4 n.1

Brandt v. Gelardi (In re Shape, Inc.),

138 B.R. 334 (Bankr. D.Me.1992) .........................................................................6

Camreta v. Greene,

563 U.S. 692 (2011)..........................................................................................9 n.4

CTS Corp. v. Waldburger,

134 S. Ct. 2175 (2014)............................................................................. 12, 12 n.6

Davenport Recycling Assocs. v. C.I.R.,

220 F.3d 1255 (11th Cir. 2000) ..............................................................................6

Elder v. Holloway,

510 U.S. 510 (1994)..............................................................................................15

Forester v. Chertoff,

500 F.3d 920 (9th Cir. 2007) ................................................................................11

Fuller v. SunTrust Banks, Inc.,

744 F.3d 685 (11th Cir. 2014) ..............................................................................13

Gonzalez v. Lee County Hous. Auth.,

161 F.3d 1290 (11th Cir. 1998) ............................................................................15
iii

Federal Cases-(continued): Page

Hallstrom v. TillaMook County,

493 U.S. 20 (1989)................................................................................................10

Harris v. Bruister,

2013 WL 6805155 (S.D. Miss. Dec. 20, 2013)................................................9 n.4

Henderson v. Shineski,

562 U.S. 428 (2011)................................................................................................7

Hinton v. Solomon,

475 F. Supp. 105 (D.D.C. 1979)...........................................................................11

Hudson v. Delta Air Lines, Inc.,

90 F.3d 451 (11th Cir. 1996) ..................................................................................3

Hugler v. First Bankers Trust Servs.,

2017 WL 1194692 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 30 2017).......................................... 12, 12 n.6

In re Lehman Bros. Sec. & ERISA Litig.,

2012 WL 6584524 (S.D.N.Y.Dec. 18, 2012)................................................ 13 n.6

In re Pugh,

158 F.3d 530 (11th Cir. 1998) ...................................................................... passim

In re Trusted Net Media Holdings, LLC,

550 F.3d 1035 (11th Cir. 2008) (en banc)................................................... 4, 5, 11

Jones v. Bock,

549 U.S. 199 (2007)................................................................................................8

K.C. 1986 Ltd. P'ship v. Reading Mfg.,

33 F. Supp. 2d 1143 (W.D. Mo. 1998).................................................................10

Klay v. United Healthgroup, Inc.,

376 F.3d 1092 (11th Cir. 2004) ........................................................................4 n.1

May v. Ill. Nat'l Ins. Co.,

190 F.3d 1200, 1206 (11th Cir. 1999)..................................................................15
iv

Federal Cases-(continued): Page

Metavante Corp. v. Emigrant Sav. Bank,

619 F.3d 748 (7th Cir. 2010) ................................................................................14

Midstate Horticultural Co. v. Pennsylvania R.R. Co.,

320 U.S. 356 (1943)................................................................................................6

Montgomery v. Wyeth,

580 F.3d 455 (2009)..............................................................................................14

Moorman v. UnumProvident Corp.,

464 F.3d 1260 (11th Cir. 2006) ..............................................................................3

Musacchio v. United States,

136 S. Ct. 709 (2016)..............................................................................................9

Perez v. Bruister,

823 F.3d 250 (5th Cir. 2016) ............................................................................9 n.4

Polo Ralph Lauren v. Tropical Shipping & Constr. Co.,

215 F.3d 1217 (11th Cir. 2000) ..................................................................... 15, 16

Ray v. Nimmo,

704 F.2d 1480 (11th Cir 1983) .............................................................................11

Reed Elsevier, Inc. v. Muchnick,

559 U.S. 154 (2010)..........................................................................................7, 10

Region 8 Forest Serv. Timber Purchasers Counsel v. Alcock,

993 F.3d 800 (11th Cir. 1993) ................................................................................3

Rogers v. Nacchio,

241 F. App'x 602 (11th Cir. 2007)........................................................................12

Simmons v. United States,

421 F.3d 1199 (11th Cir. 2005) (per curiam) .......................................................13

Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur v. Fremont Corners,

2011 WL 744645 (N.D. Cal. Feb. 24, 2011)........................................................10
v

Federal Cases-(continued): Page

United States v. Bosby,

675 F.3d 1174 (11th Cir. 1982) ..................................................................... 18 n.7

United States v. Hitachi Am., Ltd.,

172 F.3d 1319 (Fed. Cir. 1999) ..............................................................................6

United States v. Kwai Fun Wong,

135 S. Ct. 1625 (2015)............................................................................. 4, 7, 8 n.3

United States v. Nealy,

232 F.3d 825 (11th Cir. 2000) ..............................................................................15

United States v. Rapone,

131 F.3d 188 (D.C. Cir. 1997)..............................................................................15

Walker v. Jones,

10 F.3d 1569 (11th Cir. 1994) ..............................................................................14

Wood v. Milyard,

132 S. Ct. 1826 (2012)................................................................................... 12 n.6

Federal Statutes:

Title 11, Bankruptcy:

11 U.S.C. § 549(d)...............................................................................................9 n.3

Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure:

28 U.S.C. § 1292(b)...............................................................................................2, 3

Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure:

28 U.S.C. § 2401(b).............................................................................................9 n.3

Title 29 Labor, Age Discrimination in Employment:

29 U.S.C. § 633a ......................................................................................................11
vi

Federal Statutes-(continued):

 Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (Title I),

 29 U.S.C. § 1001 et seq.:

29 U.S.C. § 1113(1)......................................................................................... passim

Title 42 The Public Health and Welfare:

42 U.S.C. § 6972(b).................................................................................................10
INTRODUCTION

This Court agreed to review the pure legal question of whether “the 

limitation of actions contained in ERISA section 413(1), 29 U.S.C. § 1113(1), [is] 

subject to express waiver?” Dkt. 29 at 3. As explained in the Secretary’s opening 

brief, under Circuit and Supreme Court precedent, answering that question requires 

this Court to determine whether section 1113(1) deprives federal courts of subject 

matter jurisdiction. A federal statutory limitations period such as section 1113(1) 

is presumptively not jurisdictional unless Congress has clearly expressed its intent 

to the contrary. The text, context, structure, and legislative history of section 

1113(1) all indicate that the provision is not jurisdictional, and they give no 

countervailing indication otherwise, much less the requisite clear statement by 

Congress. As detailed by the Secretary, the district court did not engage in the 

required analysis of section 1113(1), and reached an incorrect conclusion that 

should be reversed by this Court.

Defendants’ brief raises several arguments that call for a response. First, 

Defendants state incorrectly that this Court’s standard of review on the certified 

issue is abuse of discretion. See, e.g., Brief of Defs.’/Appellees at 12 n.1, 39 

(“Defs.’ Br.”). Second, Defendants mistakenly argue that Pugh is inapplicable 

because it involved a procedural waiver by failing to timely assert a limitations 

defense under the Bankruptcy Code, while this case involves an express 
2

contractual waiver of a time limit under ERISA. Id. at 16. Third, Defendants 

erroneously contend that the district court’s decision was correct, because “many 

courts” have held that the words “[n]o action may be commenced,” which are 

found in section 1113(1), impose a jurisdictional bar in other federal statutes. See

id. at 18-19. Fourth, Defendants mistakenly rely on a Supreme Court and Eleventh 

Circuit cases that are inapposite for numerous reasons, including that none engaged 

in the required jurisdictional analysis. See, e.g., id. at 11-12, 16, 19. Finally, 

Defendants incorrectly maintain that the Secretary waived certain arguments that 

he made in his opening brief concerning the certified issue by not raising them 

below. See, e.g., id. at 9. As discussed below, none of these arguments have

merit.

ARGUMENT 

I. This Court Reviews the Certified Question of Law De Novo.

Throughout their brief, Defendants incorrectly contend that this Court must

engage in abuse-of-discretion review because this case includes an appeal from a 

denial of reconsideration. Defs.’ Br. at 9, 12, 14-19, 22, 25, 29, 36 n.8, 41. The 

parties agree, however, that an appeal from an order granting a motion to dismiss, 

such as the order here, is subject to de novo review. Defs.’ Br. at 9. This Court’s 

interlocutory review of a dismissal order pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b), which 

permits appeals from “a controlling question of law,” remains de novo even if the 
3

certified “question of law” is also addressed in a certified denial of reconsideration. 

See Hudson v. Delta Air Lines, Inc., 90 F.3d 451, 455 (11th Cir. 1996) (de novo

review following section 1292(b) appeal from denial of motion for reconsideration 

of grant of motion to dismiss); Moorman v. UnumProvident Corp., 464 F.3d 1260, 

1264 (11th Cir. 2006) (same, on grant of summary judgment). Defendants’ 

citation to Region 8 Forest Serv. Timber Purchasers Counsel v. Alcock, 993 F.2d 

800 (11th Cir. 1993), is inapposite, as the “abuse of discretion” review in that case 

concerned the district court’s “grant” of reconsideration, not the ultimate merits of 

its reconsideration decision, which was reviewed de novo. 

Moreover, the motion to dismiss and motion for reconsideration raised the 

same issues. The Secretary’s response to the motion to dismiss clearly argued: (1) 

even statutes of repose are waivable, Dkt. 10 at 3, 7-8; (2) legislative intent 

determines the question of whether section 1113(1) is waivable, id. at 8-10; and (3) 

section 1113(1) is not jurisdictional and only provides an affirmative defense, id. at 

9-10, 12. In addition to raising those same issues, the motion for reconsideration 

argued the district court’s resolution of those issues was contrary to binding caselaw. Dkt. 20-1 at 5-18. Because the Secretary originally argued that section 

1113(1) is subject to waiver in response to Defendants’ motion to dismiss and 

raised the same issues discussed in the motion for reconsideration, both motions 

considered an identical question, which is now the question on appeal: whether the 
4

limitation of actions contained in ERISA section 413(1), 29 U.S.C. § 1113(1) is 

subject to express waiver. Dkt. 29 at 3. Accordingly, this Court reviews the issue 

de novo.0F

1

II. The Analytical Framework Established by Pugh Applies to this 

Case.

The Secretary’s opening brief laid out the analytical framework for 

addressing the issue on appeal, which was set forth by this Court in In re Pugh, 158 

F.3d 530 (11th Cir. 1998). Pugh rejects the argument, advanced by Defendants, 

that a limitations period can only be waived if it is construed to be a “statute of 

limitations” instead of a “statute of repose.” Id. at 533-34. Pugh and its progeny 

instead instruct courts to consider whether the limitations period deprives the 

courts of subject matter jurisdiction, which is determined by whether Congress 

clearly expresses the intent to do so. Id.; In re Trusted Net Media Holdings, LLC, 

550 F.3d 1035, 1042-44 (11th Cir. 2008) (en banc).

Defendants do not acknowledge that federal limitations provisions are 

presumptively not jurisdictional, and that they carry a heavy burden in “clear[ing 

 1 In any event, Defendants may be arguing for a distinction without a difference 

given that a pure legal issue has been certified and an abuse of discretion occurs if 

a court “applies an incorrect legal standard” or “appl[ies] the law in an 

unreasonable or incorrect manner,” Klay v. United Healthgroup, Inc., 376 F.3d 

1092, 1096 (11th Cir. 2004), and that there is no discretion accorded to a decision 

“influenced by any mistake of law,” see Betty K Agencies, Ltd. v. M/V 

MONADA, 432 F.3d 1333, 1337 (11th Cir. 2005).
5

the] high bar” to establish that section 1113(1) is jurisdictional. See United States 

v. Kwai Fun Wong, 135 S. Ct. 1625, 1632 (2015); Trusted Net Media, 550 F.3d at 

1042 (citing Arbaugh v. Y&H Corp., 546 U.S. 500, 515-16 (2006)); accord Pugh, 

158 F.3d at 534-38; see Sec’y of Labor’s Opening Br. at 18-19, 36-37 (“Sec’y’s 

Br.”). Instead, Defendants assert that Pugh is distinguishable and does not apply to 

this case because Pugh “involved the issue of procedural waiver” under the 

Bankruptcy Code and “says nothing about the validity of a purported contractual 

waiver of the protections of a statute of repose.” Defs.’ Br. at 16.1F

2

 Defendants are 

wrong because the principles adopted in Pugh are not limited to either the 

Bankruptcy Code or “procedural” waivers, involving a failure to timely assert 

certain defenses in litigation. First, as the Secretary previously explained, the 

reasoning of Pugh is not confined to the Bankruptcy Code context; Pugh itself 

cited cases involving other federal non-bankruptcy statutes, and this Court has 

cited Pugh in examining non-bankruptcy statutes. Sec’y’s Br. at 17. 

 2 Defendants mischaracterize certain events as occurring “after the deadline”

established by three of the waiver and tolling agreements. Defs.’ Br. at 5-6. As 

detailed in the Secretary’s opening brief, each agreement contained two pertinent 

dates: the date after which the Secretary may sue the Defendants, and the end date

of the agreed-upon waiver. Sec’y’s Br. at 5-6 (citing Dkt. 10-1 at ¶¶ 1-2). 

Defendants mislabel the “may sue” date as a “deadline,” which it plainly isn’t, and 

there is no dispute that each new agreement was executed – and the complaint was 

filed – before the end date of any agreed-upon waiver. See, e.g., Defs.’ Br. at 9-10 

(not contesting agreements’ validity based on timing of execution); Dkt. 17 at 2-4 

(discussing agreements); Dkt. 29 at 2 (same).
6

Second, Pugh did not limit its reasoning to “procedural” waivers and the 

logic of the decision does not dictate such a limitation. Instead, the Pugh Court 

specifically relied on Midstate Horticultural Co. v. Pennsylvania R.R. Co., 320 

U.S. 356, 360 (1943), which Defendants acknowledge concerned express waivers, 

not procedural waivers, Defs.’ Br. at 36-37 (citing Midstate Horticultural, 320 U.S. 

at 357-58 & n.3). Pugh additionally cites Midstate Horticultural for the fact that 

“[t]he Supreme Court repeatedly has confirmed the important role that legislative 

intent plays in determining whether a limitations period can be waived or tolled.” 

Pugh, 158 F.3d at 537. Pugh also relied on Brandt v. Gelardi (In re Shape, Inc.), 

138 B.R. 334, 337 (Bankr. D.Me.1992), another case concerning express waivers, 

for its “holding that section 546(a) is a true statute of limitations that can be 

extended by agreement of the parties.” Pugh, 158 F.3d at 536. Subsequent cases 

involving express waivers have also relied on Pugh. See, e.g., Davenport 

Recycling Assocs. v. C.I.R., 220 F.3d 1255, 1257 (11th Cir. 2000) (noting the 

consent to extend the limitations period in a tax case); United States v. Hitachi 

Am., Ltd., 172 F.3d 1319, 1333–34 (Fed. Cir. 1999) (citing Pugh, 158 F.3d at 532, 

538, in its discussion of written waiver agreements with respect to customs 

violations). In short, the distinction between express versus procedural waivers did 

not, as Defendants seem to suggest, dictate the Pugh Court’s analytical framework. 

Rather, Pugh establishes the proper framework for resolving the waiver question 
7

presented in this appeal by requiring an in-depth examination into whether the 

provision is jurisdictional. 158 F.3d at 532-38. 

III. Defendants Improperly Contend That “Magic Words” Can 

Create Jurisdictional Status.

Defendants further assert that section 1113(1) is jurisidictional because it 

contains the words “no action may be commenced” and because “numerous 

courts” – specifically, three district courts outside of this Circuit – “have held that 

language that ‘[n]o action may be commenced’ after some specified date clearly 

indicates, and gives rise to, a jurisdictional bar to suit.” Defs.’ Br. at 19. 

Defendants’ contention that section 1113(1) is jurisdictional because other statutes 

with the words “no action may be commenced” have been found jurisdictional is 

wholly inconsistent with Pugh, which rejected a waiver analysis that rested solely 

on such “semantic analog[ies],” 158 F.3d at 534, and the Supreme Court’s decision 

in Henderson v. Shinseki, which held that jurisdictional analysis does not turn on 

Congress’s use of “magic words.” 562 U.S. 428, 436 (2011). To overcome the 

presumption that a federal time limit is non-jurisdictional, there must be specific 

evidence that Congress clearly intended to make the time limit jurisdictional, based 

on a close examination of the text, its context, the statutory scheme, the statute’s 

purpose, and legislative history. See Kwai Fun Wong, 135 S. Ct. at 1632; Reed 

Elsevier, Inc. v. Muchnick, 559 U.S. 154, 164-65 (2010); Pugh, 158 F.3d at 538. 

Defendants have not pointed to such evidence.
8

As the Supreme Court has explained, “in applying that clear statement rule, 

we have made plain that most time bars are nonjurisdictional. Time and again, we 

have described filing deadlines as ‘quintessential claim-processing rules,’ which 

‘seek to promote the orderly progress of litigation,’ but do not deprive a court of 

authority to hear a case.” Kwai Fun Wong, 135 S. Ct. at 1632 (citations omitted). 

Contrary to Defendants’ position, “[t]hat is so . . . even when the time limit is 

important (most are) and even when it is framed in mandatory terms (again, most 

are); indeed, that is so ‘however emphatic[ally]’ expressed those terms may be. 

Congress must do something special, beyond setting an exception-free deadline, to 

tag a statute of limitations as jurisdictional and so prohibit a court from tolling it.” 

Id. (citations omitted). 

Section 1113(1)’s text plainly does not speak to jurisdiction. In fact, similar 

statutory phrasing – “no action shall be brought” – has been described as 

“boilerplate language,” Jones v. Bock, 549 U.S. 199, 220 (2007), and considered 

non-jurisdictional, see American Canoe Ass’n, Inc. v. City of Attalla, 363 F.3d 

1085, 1088 (11th Cir. 2004). Moreover, other courts have held that similar, and 

perhaps even stronger, language in other federal time limits does not create a 

jurisdictional bar.2F

3

 Defendants need to point to more than the mere fact that the 

 3 In Kwai Fun Wong, for instance, the Supreme Court held that the time limit in the 

Federal Tort Claims Act was non-jurisdictional. That statute provides that a “tort 
9

six-year limitation period in section 1113(1) says "no action may be commenced" 

to prove that it is jurisdictional. See Sec’y’s Br. at 37-38 (discussing Musacchio v. 

United States, 136 S. Ct. 709 (2016)).

Defendants nonetheless cite three district court decisions that they say 

support a finding that the phrase “no action may be commenced” in section 

1113(1) alone makes the limitations period unwaivable. See Defs.’ Br. at 19.3F

4

 

Two of the cases concern the same limitations provision in the Resource 

 

claim against the United States ‘shall be forever barred’” unless it is presented to 

the “appropriate Federal agency within two years after such claim accrues” and is 

then brought to federal court “within six months” after the agency acts on the 

claim. 135 S. Ct. at 1629 (citing 28 U.S.C. § 2401(b)) (emphasis added). And in 

Pugh, the Court held that the time limit in Section 549 of Title 11 of the 

Bankruptcy Code, 11 U.S.C. § 549(d), which provides that “[a]n action or 

proceeding . . . may not be commenced after the earlier of two years after the date 

of the transfer sought to be avoided or the time the case is closed or dismissed,”

was non-jurisdictional. 158 F.3d at 538.

4 Defendants separately rely on Harris v. Bruister, 2013 WL 6805155, *5-*6 (S.D. 

Miss. Dec. 20, 2013), an unpublished district court decision holding that section 

1113(1) is jurisdictional. Defs.’ Br. at 7, 32-34. As the Secretary explained in his 

opening brief, Bruister is not persuasive because the district court considered itself 

bound by circuit precedent that was dicta and that did not engage in the rigorous 

jurisdictional analysis called for by this Court and the Supreme Court. Sec’y’s Br. 

at 35 n.7. The Fifth Circuit has never ruled on whether ERISA section 1113(1) is 

jurisdictional. Id. Moreover, contrary to Defendants’ suggestions, see, e.g., Br. at 

7, Bruister “‘is not binding precedent in either a different judicial district, the same 

judicial district, or even upon the same judge in a different case,’” Camreta v. 

Greene, 563 U.S. 692, 709 n.7 (2011) (citation omitted), and the decision not to 

appeal the limitations issue as to certain claims in Bruister did not impinge on the 

significant recovery in that case for the remaining claims. Cf. Perez v. Bruister, 

823 F.3d 250 (5th Cir. 2016) (affirming $6.5 million judgment). 
10

Conservation and Recovery Act. Id. at 19 (citing Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur 

v. Fremont Corners, 2011 WL 744645 (N.D. Cal. Feb. 24, 2011); K.C. 1986 Ltd. 

P’ship v. Reading Mfg., 33 F. Supp. 2d 1143 (W.D. Mo. 1998)). These two cases 

held that the limitations provision in 42 U.S.C. § 6972(b) is jurisdictional, relying 

on the Supreme Court’s earlier decision in Hallstrom v. TillaMook County, 493 

U.S. 20 (1989). But Hallstrom expressly did not address the jurisdictional 

question, stating that “the parties have framed the question presented in this case as 

whether the notice provision is jurisdictional or procedural[, but based on] our 

literal interpretation of the stautory requirement, we need not determine whether § 

6792(b) is jurisdictional in the strict sense of the term.” Id. at 31. Thus, Sisters of 

Notre Dame and K.C. 1986 do nothing more than engage in the type of unreasoned 

“drive-by jurisdictional rulings” that the Supreme Court has criticized. See

Arbaugh, 546 U.S. at 511 (courts “have been less than meticulous” in stating that 

actions are dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, “sometimes erronously conflat[ing]” 

lack of jurisdiction with a failure to state a claim). In fact, the Supreme Court has 

subsequently treated Hallstrom as addressing a non-jurisdictional time limit. See

Reed Elsevier, 559 U.S. at 171 (labelling an argument based on Hallstrom as an 

“alternative” argument to the jurisdictional argument and grouping the requirement 

in Hallstrom with a waivable “res judicata” defense at issue in Arizona v. 

California, 530 U.S. 392, 412–413 (2000)). 
11

Defendants’ other cited authority, Hinton v. Solomon, 475 F. Supp. 105, 

107-08 (D.D.C. 1979), concerning the time limit in 29 U.S.C. § 633a, follows 

earlier decisions from the same district court that engaged in “unrefined 

dispositions” of the jurisdictional question that the Supreme Court has held are due 

“no precedential effect” – and that this Court has rejected. See Arbaugh, 546 U.S. 

at 511; Pugh, 158 F.3d at 538; Trusted Net Media, 550 F.3d at 1042-44. In fact, 

this Court has stated that the same time limit is “not an absolute jurisdictional 

requirement, but is subject to modification or excuse for equitable reasons.” Ray 

v. Nimmo, 704 F.2d 1480, 1483 (11th Cir. 1983). Likewise, the Ninth Circuit 

subsequently applied the correct analysis to 29 U.S.C. § 633a and held that its 

“time prescriptions . . . , including the 30–day waiting period, are not jurisdictional 

and may be forfeited, waived, or equitably modified.” Forester v. Chertoff, 500 

F.3d 920, 929 (9th Cir. 2007).4F

5

 5 Defendants’ assertion that the Secretary wants to make section 1113(1) toothless, 

Br. at 22-23, is unfounded given that a potential defendant (not the Secretary) 

decides whether to execute an express waiver and that this would apparently mean 

that the Supreme Court has rendered all federal limitations periods presumptively 

toothless. See, e.g., Sec’y’s Br. at 18-19, 36 (discussing Supreme Court cases

holding that federal statutes are non-jurisdictional and waivable absent Congress’s

clear statement to the contrary).
12

IV. Defendants Rely on Inapposite Cases Concerning Equitable 

Tolling that Do Not Alter this Court’s Analysis of Section 1113(1).

Defendants also rely on language from various cases addressing limitations 

periods, none of which engage in the type of jurisdictional analysis that might bear 

on section 1113(1). For example, Defendants cite language from CTS Corp. v. 

Waldburger, 134 S. Ct. 2175, 2182-83 (2014), and Rogers v. Nacchio, 241 F. 

App’x 602, 605 (11th Cir. 2007), stating that statutes of repose cannot be tolled. 

See Defs.’ Br. at 12, 16. Neither CTS nor Rogers engaged in a jurisdictional 

analysis or made any determination on the issue. Moreover, the two cases state 

only that statutes of repose may not be equitably tolled, a proposition that is not at 

issue here, and they offer no insight into whether those provisions are subject to 

express waiver. See Hugler v. First Bankers Trust Servs., 2017 WL 1194692, at 

*8-*9 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 30 2017) (distinguishing equitable tolling and waivers); see 

also Sec’y’s Br. at 32-33, 40 (discussing CTS and Rogers).5F

6

 6 As CTS explained, the purpose of a statute of repose is to “provide [a defendant 

with] a fresh start or freedom from liability” after a legislatively determined period 

of time. 134 S. Ct. at 2182-83. This goal is potentially in tension with judiciallycreated equitable tolling, see id., but it is not undermined in a case where, as here, 

Defendants expressly agreed to waive the limitations period. See Sec’y’s Br. at 

29-30; Hugler, 2007 WL 1194692, at *8. Under any consideration of the equities, 

Defendants cannot avoid the fact that they reneged on their promises. Sec’y’s Br.

at 27-28. Thus, while Defendants argue that the equities tilt in their favor, Defs.’

Br. 24-25, their waiver was an “intentional relinquishment or abandonment of a 

known right” for their own benefit, namely an opportunity for settlement 

negotiations. Wood v. Milyard, 132 S. Ct. 1826, 1835 (2012). Defendants’ 
13

Defendants cite three Eleventh Circuit cases in support of their continued 

position that labeling section 1113(1) a “statute of repose” is conclusive, again 

falling into the “magic words” trap. First, Defendants cite the same language three 

times from Fuller v. SunTrust Banks, Inc., 744 F.3d 685 (11th Cir. 2014), that the

“value of repose will trump” plaintiff’s rights. Defs.’ Br. 11, 22, 40. But Fuller

does not address whether section 1113(1) is subject to waiver, and contrary to 

Defendants’ suggestion, it calls section 1113(1) a “statute of limitations” or 

“limitations period” over twenty times. Fuller, 744 F.3d at 691-702; cf. Defs.’ Br. 

at 19 (omitting reference to section 1113(1) as a “statute of limitations” from Fuller

quote). Defendants also quote the “Appendix” to Simmons v. United States, 421 

F.3d 1199, 1201 (11th Cir. 2005) (per curiam), which consists of the Georgia 

Supreme Court’s opinion related to a state time limit and equitable tolling (again, 

not at issue here). Defs.’ Br. at 12. Neither this Court nor the state court said 

anything about whether the Georgia code provision is jurisdictional; even so, the 

appended state court opinion analyzed the code’s history, structure and context, 

and legislative intent before concluding that the repose provision could not be 

equitably tolled. Simmons, 421 F.3d at 1201-02. Defendants also cite language 

from May v. Ill. Nat’l Ins. Co., 190 F.3d 1200, 1206 (11th Cir. 1999), without 

 

argument that the equities compel the Court to disregard their own intentional act

is “a notable bit of ‘chutzpah’” and “is not just wrong, it is ‘ridiculous.’” Lehman 

Bros. Sec., 2012 WL 6584524, at *2 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 18, 2012).
14

explaining that this Court distinguished between a “jurisdictional statute of 

nonclaim” and a “statute of repose” under Florida law, which is completely 

irrelevant here. Defs.’ Br. at 34. The decision did not address express waiver and 

determined that resolving the appeal turned on certifying a question to the state 

court concerning the jurisdictional issue. May, 190 F.3d at 1207-08. Defendants’ 

reliance (Defs.’ Br. at 40) on the Sixth Circuit’s decision in Montgomery v. Wyeth, 

580 F.3d 455 (2009), is similarly misplaced, because the case turned on inapposite 

Tennessee law and an interpretation of the specific provision at issue. Moreover, 

this Court in Pugh specifically acknowledged the existence of state “statutes of 

repose” like the ones described above, but the Court still applied the jurisdictional 

framework based on federal case-law. 158 F.3d at 533-34 (citing case about 

Georgia statute). 

V. The Secretary’s Arguments Have Not Been Waived.

In their opposition brief, Defendants incorrectly assert that the Secretary 

waived certain arguments. E.g., Defs. Br. at 39-40. Defendants’ position that the 

Secretary waived various arguments reflects a misunderstanding of how and when 

waiver applies. In general, “an issue not raised in the district court and raised for 

the first time in an appeal will not be considered by this court” because it was 

waived. Walker v. Jones, 10 F.3d 1569, 1572 (11th Cir. 1994) (emphasis added). 

But Defendants do not argue that the Secretary waived the issue on appeal 
15

(because he clearly did not, supra, at 5); rather, they argue that he waived certain 

arguments and authorities in support of his position on the issue. Simply offering 

new authority for a position advanced in the district court “is distinguishable from 

cases in which a litigant attempts to raise an entirely new claim or new issue on 

appeal.” United States v. Rapone, 131 F.3d 188, 196 (D.C. Cir. 1997); Metavante 

Corp. v. Emigrant Sav. Bank, 619 F.3d 748, 773 (7th Cir. 2010) (“A litigant may 

cite new authority on appeal.”); cf. United States v. Nealy, 232 F.3d 825, 830 (11th 

Cir. 2000) (parties may raise new authorities but may not raise new issues in 

context of supplemental briefing). 

As the Supreme Court explained in Elder v. Holloway, when an appellate 

court reviews a question of law de novo, the court must use its “full knowledge of 

its own [and other relevant] precedents.” 510 U.S. 510, 516 (1994). Ignoring 

relevant precedents could “occasion appellate affirmation of incorrect legal results”

based on overlooking pertinent legal authority. Id. at 512. Thus, appellate review 

must be conducted “in light of all relevant precedents, not simply those cited to, or 

discovered by, the district court.” Id. at 512; see Gonzalez v. Lee County Housing 

Authority, 161 F.3d 1290, 1303 n.39 (11th Cir. 1998).

In addition, it does not matter if the Secretary first raised an argument on 

reconsideration so long as the argument relates to a position originally taken in 

response to Defendants’ dismissal motion. See Polo Ralph Lauren v. Tropical 
16

Shipping & Constr. Co., 215 F.3d 1217, 1221-22 (11th Cir. 2000). In Polo Ralph 

Lauren, the plaintiff originally asserted that it was a third party beneficiary to a 

contract because it was a named beneficiary to bills of lading. Id. On

reconsideration, the plaintiff “raised the alternative argument that [it was the 

beneficiary because] the terms and conditions in the bills of lading contained 

numerous references to the ‘owner of the goods,’” which was readily identifiable 

as the plaintiff. Id. This Court rejected the defendant’s assertion that the plaintiff 

had waived the second argument, concluding that the plaintiff’s alternative theory 

was “part and parcel of its original argument.” Id.

As previously explained, the Secretary’s response to the motion to dismiss 

and subsequent motion for reconsideration both clearly argued that statutes of 

repose are waivable, that legislative intent determines the question of whether 

section 1113(1) is waivable, and that section 1113(1) is not jurisdictional and only 

provides an affirmative defense. Supra, at 5. Because the Secretary originally 

argued that section 1113(1) is subject to waiver in response to Defendants’ motion 

to dismiss and raised the same issues in the motion for reconsideration, any 

alternative theories in support of that argument that were first raised on 

reconsideration are properly before this Court.

In any event, Defendants are mistaken in asserting that the Secretary waived 

three arguments. First, Defendants state that the Secretary conceded below that 
17

section 1113(1) is a statute of repose. Defs.’ Br. at 12 n.1. But in his response to 

Defendants’ dismissal motion, the Secretary stated that “it makes no difference 

whether [section 1113(1) is] considered a statute of repose,” Dkt. 10 at 8, and 

referred to section 1113(1) as both a statute of repose and statute of limitations. 

See, e.g., id. at 11. On appeal, the Secretary again stated that labeling section 

1113(1) as a statute of repose does not matter, and provided relevant authorities. 

Sec’y’s Br. at 14 n.4.

 Second, Defendants assert that the Secretary waived the argument that 

statutes of repose are waivable affirmative defenses. Defs.’ Br. at 39. To the 

contrary, Defendants’ own brief acknowledges that “[i]n opposition to Appellants’ 

motion to dismiss, the Secretary quoted [authority] for the proposition that ‘statutes 

of repose in particular, and statutes of limitations in general, are ‘normally 

waivable,’” id. at 29; see Dkt. 10 at 8-9 (section 1113(1) “speaks to . . . an 

affirmative defense”); see also id. at 13-14.

Third, Defendants maintain that the Secretary did not make an argument in 

the district court related to section 1113(1)’s structure, including its “fraud or 

concealment” provision or the statute’s criminal enforcement regime. Defs.’ Br. at 

18 n.2 & 22 n.5. In fact, in his response to Defendants’ dismissal motion and in his 

reconsideration motion, the Secretary explained how the statute’s structure and 

operation made section 1113(1) waivable, including with specific reference to the 
18

fraud or concealment provision. Dkt. 10 at 9-10, 14-15 (statute calls for precomplaint investigation and negotiation and reflects Congress’s public policy 

concerns); Dkt. 20-1 at 11 (discussing fraud or concealment provision); id. at 12-

14 (discussing structure of statute). Thus, the Secretary preserved all of the issues 

and arguments that Defendants contend were waived, and the Secretary’s citation 

of additional authority – case-law and statutes – to support those positions in his 

reconsideration motion and on appeal are properly before this Court.6F

7

CONCLUSION

For the foregoing reasons, the Secretary maintains his request that this Court 

reverse the district court’s decision below, and hold that section 1113(1) is nonjurisdictional and subject to express waiver.

 7 On the other hand, Defendants themselves make numerous statements without 

any reference to the record, which are therefore not properly before the Court. See, 

e.g., Defs.’ Br. at 4-5 (description of pre-complaint negotiations not in the record); 

United States v. Bosby, 675 F.3d 1174, 1181 n.9 (11th Cir. 1982) (“Generally, 

appellate courts will not consider matters outside the record.”).
19

Respectfully submitted, 

NICHOLAS C. GEALE

Acting Solicitor of Labor 

G. WILLIAM SCOTT 

Associate Solicitor 

for Plan Benefits Security 

THOMAS TSO 

Counsel for Appellate and 

Special Litigation 

/s/ Stephen Silverman 

STEPHEN SILVERMAN 

Senior Trial Attorney 

Plan Benefits Security Division 

Office of the Solicitor

U.S. Department of Labor 

200 Constitution Avenue, N.W. Rm. N-4611

Washington, D.C. 20210 

(202) 693-5623 – Phone 

(202) 693-5610 – Fax

Silverman.stephen@dol.gov
20

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that on May 19, 2017, a copy of the foregoing was filed 

electronically using the CM/ECF system which effected service of such filing on

the following:

Michael David Flint

David Howard Flint

Andrew John Lavoie

Schreeder, Wheeler & Flint, LLP

1100 Peachtree Street, N.E., Suite 800

Atlanta, GA 30309-4516

s/ Stephen Silverman

Stephen Silverman

Senior Trial Attorney

Plan Benefits Security Division

U.S. Department of Labor

200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., N-4611

Washington, D.C. 20210

(202) 693-5623 – Phone

(202) 693-5610 – Fax

silverman.stephen@dol.gov
21

CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE WITH RULE 32(a)

1. This brief complies with the type-volume limitation of FED. R. APP. P. 

32(a)(7)(B) because: this brief contains 3750 words, excluding the parts of 

the brief exempted by FED. R. APP. P. 32(a)(7)(B)(iii).

2. This brief complies with the typeface requirements of FED. R. APP. P. 

32(a)(5) and the type style requirements of FED. R. APP. P. 32(a)(6) 

because: this brief has been prepared in a proportionally spaced typeface 

using Microsoft Word 2010 in 14-point, Times New Roman font.

/s/ Stephen Silverman

Counsel for the Secretary

May 19, 2017