Case Explained: 24-2042: KELLY v. US [OPINION], Precedential

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

Filed: 2026-07-17

The Federal Circuit affirmed the dismissal of the complaint for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, holding that the six-year statute of limitations in 28 U.S.C. § 2501 is jurisdictional and not subject to equitable tolling, including the class-action tolling rule established in *American Pipe & Construction Co. v. Utah*. The court determined that while its prior decision in *Bright v. United States* had permitted such tolling under § 2501, that portion of *Bright* was implicitly overruled by the Supreme Court’s decision in *California Public Employees’ Retirement System v. ANZ Securities, Inc.*, which clarified that *American Pipe* tolling is an equitable remedy. Because § 2501 is jurisdictional and not subject to equitable tolling, the statute of limitations could not be tolled during the pendency of the related *Washington Federal* litigation. Consequently, the appellants’ claims filed in October 2021 were time-barred, as they accrued in September 2008, and the dismissal by the Court of Federal Claims stands without further review of alternative grounds for dismissal.

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