Court Opinion

ID: 9497111
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 16:43:21.935255+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:58:00.278725
License: Public Domain

MAYER, Chief Judge,
dissenting.
I dissent because the court incorrectly determines that equitable tolling is not available here. The court frames the issue as whether “state officials misled [Fail] by not informing her that she should check the Federal Register for news of the final determination,” or as whether the local office has an independent responsibility “to anticipate that she might want to appeal a negative determination and to inform her how to do that.” Ante at 1298-99. If this were the issue, I would surely join the court. But this is not the issue presented and I am perplexed by the court’s willingness to recast the facts.* Rather, the issue is whether the local office unintentionally misled Fail into missing the deadline by telling her that it would keep her abreast of any developments regarding the workers’ petition. The local office has no independent duty to keep workers informed, but, once it makes assurances to a worker as in this case, it has obligated itself to follow through.
The court’s argument that the local office satisfied its obligation by eventually informing Fail that the petition was denied is also troubling. It is obvious that the local office promised to tell her the outcome of her petition in a timely manner. The court’s holding to the contrary is akin to having held in Bailey v. West, 160 F.3d 1360 (Fed.Cir.1998) (en banc), that the regional office could have satisfied its obligation to Bailey by filing his notice of appeal even if that notice were filed outside the statutory deadline. Establishing such a precedent sends the clear message to government officials that they may shirk their duties, and thus unjustly preclude judicial review, by cleverly, yet misleadingly, telling a citizen that they will act on her behalf.
Considering the actual issue presented, Fail’s actions were sufficiently diligent. Just as Bailey relied on the regional office, id. at 1361, Fail reasonably relied on the assurances of the local office, which outwardly appears to, and actually does, play a joint role with the federal government in the implementation of the Assistance Act. See 20 C.F.R. §§ 661.240, 664.330 (2004). Once she was made this promise, Fail can*1301not be faulted for not pursuing other avenues of information. And, it is irrelevant that Fail’s visits to the local office had multiple purposes. It is illogical to require independent visits to the same facility in order to establish diligence. It is true that in Former Employees of Quality Fabricating, Inc. v. United States Secretary of Labor, 259 F.Supp.2d 1282 (Ct. Int’l Trade 2008), which both the Court of International Trade and this court rely on, the plaintiff went to greater lengths. But she was never misinformed by government employees that they would inform her when the petition was decided.
Fail’s case is similar to Bailey’s in several other relevant respects. The purpose of the Assistance Act is to distribute benefits to American workers whose jobs have been shipped overseas, while the purpose of the laws Bailey invoked is to distribute benefits to veterans who have been injured during service. Both are remedial acts designed to provide much needed aid. And, just like Bailey, Fail exhibited diligence as soon as she discovered that the petition was denied. In my view, the government lulled Fail into missing the deadline for appeal and she is therefore entitled to equitable tolling. See id. at 1365 (“Although there is no suggestion of misconduct, such as tricking Bailey into missing the 120 day filing deadline, we nevertheless conclude that a veteran’s inducement by an adversary’s conduct is akin to grounds sufficient to toll a limitations period in a private suit.”).

The court also attempts to frame the issue as whether Fail's several visits to the local office, separately from any government conduct, constitute due diligence. Ante at 1298-99. ("In essence, appellants argue that Fail's inquiries to state officials during her visits to the unemployment office were sufficiently diligent”). This, of course, is not the issue presented on appeal either.