Federal Circuit sits en banc on equitable tolling

The Federal Circuit sat en banc last Thursday in Arellano v. Tran, an appeal from the US Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (an Article I court).

The Federal Circuit took this appeal en banc sua sponte (not as my autocorrect would like to spell it: “sea sponge“)

The questions presented are:

A. Does the rebuttable presumption of the availability of equitable tolling articulated in Irwin v. Department of Veterans Affairs, 498 U.S. 89, 111 S.Ct. 453, 112 L.Ed.2d 435 (1990), apply to 38 U.S.C. § 5110(b)(1), and if so, is it necessary for the court to overrule Andrews v. Principi, 351 F.3d 1134 (Fed. Cir. 2003)?

B. Assuming Irwin‘s rebuttable presumption applies to § 5110(b)(1), has that presumption been rebutted?

C. Assuming this court holds that Irwin‘s rebuttable presumption applies to § 5110(b)(1), would such a holding extend to any additional provisions of § 5110, including but not limited to § 5110(a)(1)?

D. To what extent have courts ruled on the availability of equitable tolling under statutes in other benefits programs that include timing provisions similar to § 5110?

You can listen to the en banc oral argument here:

[Link].

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