Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/23pdf/22-1008_1b82.pdf
Page Number: 53.0

Cite as:  603 U. S. ____ (2024) 

7 

JACKSON, J., dissenting 

The statute at issue here—28 U. S. C. §2401(a)—supple-
ments those specific provisions.  In doing so, §2401(a) serves
a special purpose: to act as a catchall that imposes an outer
time  limit  on  claims  brought  against  the  United  States
when  no  other  statute  of  limitations  applies.    Under 
§2401(a), “every civil action commenced against the United
States shall be barred unless the complaint is filed within
six  years  after  the  right  of  action  first  accrues.”    This 
catchall limitations statute has been applied in a range of 
contexts,  including  APA  claims  (like  this  one),  contract
claims, see Crown Coat, 386 U. S., at 510–511, and more, 
see,  e.g.,  Natural  Resources  Defense  Council  v.  Haaland, 
102 F. 4th 1045, 1074 (CA9 2024) (claims under the Endan-
gered Species Act).

Consistent with the broad scope of its potential applica-
tion,  §2401(a)  uses  broad  language.  It  starts  the  6-year 
clock when “the right of action first accrues.”  §2401(a).  No 
more elaboration or specificity is given.  So, what does the 
sparse text of §2401(a) tell us?  

To start, the statute tells us to look at when “the right of
action first accrues.”  (Emphasis added.)  The word “first” 
directs us to start the clock at the earliest possible oppor-
tunity once the claim accrues.  From the text alone, then, 
we  know  that  this  moment  in  time  should happen  sooner 
rather than later.  But when that moment occurs depends 
on the meaning of both “the right of action” and “accrues.” 
Next, the provision uses the unadorned phrase “the right 
of  action.”  Because  this  statute  is  applicable  to  a  broad 
range of causes of action against the Government, the un-
derlying  statute  (here  the  APA)  provides  “the  right  of  ac-
tion,”  not  §2401(a)  itself.  Put  another  way,  the  §2401(a)
catchall  applies  to  different  causes  of  action,  and  those 
causes of action establish different legal claims. Though the 
right of action is not the same for an APA claim as it is for
an Endangered Species Act claim, §2401(a)’s broad “right of 
action” language applies to both of these claims, and more.