Opinion ID: 587397
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The 1989 Amendments Apply to This Case

Text: 62 The 1989 amendments apply to: 1) petitions filed after December 19, 1989 and 2) petitions pending as of December 19, 1989 in which the evidentiary record is not closed, with provision for an immediate suspension for 30 days of all pending cases. 42 U.S.C. §§ 300aa-10 and -12, notes on effective date of 1989 amendments (Supp. I 1989) (emphasis added). Petitions pending as of December 19, 1989 in which the evidentiary record is closed proceed under the law in effect before the date of enactment [of the 1989 amendments]. 42 U.S.C. § 300aa-10, note on effective dates (Supp. I 1989) (emphasis added). In the present matter, the petition was filed on June 28, 1989. However, as of December 19, 1989, the evidentiary record had not closed. Therefore, the 1989 amendments apply to this case and to the roles of the special master, the Claims Court, and this court. 63 This case was appealed and argued at a time when the Court of Appeals had not yet spoken definitively regarding the standard of review. Under the circumstances, and out of fairness to the litigants, we have examined the factual findings and conclusions that underlay the Claims Court's decision--that is, the special master's findings and conclusions as upheld by the Claims Court--with more care than the standard we here articulate requires in order to ascertain whether they were wrong under any arguably-applicable standard. On the record before us we find no such error. 64