I'm Elizabeth Lattery and welcome to Scotus 101, where we break down what's happening at the Supreme Court, what the justices are up to, and other things related to our favorite branch of government.

This week, I'm joined by Kevin Daly of The Daily Caller, and we're talking about the court hearing yet another Obamacare challenge, the first merits opinion of

the term. And I also recently sat down with Third Circuit Judge Stephanos Bebis. Kevin, welcome

back to Scotus 101. Always a pleasure to be on the pod. So for fans of Tiffany, don't worry,

she'll be back in the new year. She was just a little busy this week. So first up, in Scotus

news, the court issued its first two merits

opinions of the term. First up, they were riveting reads, let me tell you. First up was Rottkitsky

versus Clem, which was an 8-1 opinion by Justice Thomas. And the question there was whether there is a

discovery rule that tolls the one-year statute of limitation in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

So the court held that absent the application of an equitable doctrine, the statute of limitation in the act begins to run when the alleged violation occurs, not when it is discovered.

So the relevant provision says an action must be brought within one year

from the date on which the violation occurs. So writing for the majority, Justice Thomas said

that the text unambiguously sets the date of the violation as the event that starts the

act's one-year limitations period, and that adopting the petitioner's discovery rule approach

would require improper atextual supplementation of the statute.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dissented from the opinion in part and from the judgment.

She agreed with the majority that the limitations period ordinarily commences to run on the date the violation occurred,

but said that this time trigger doesn't apply when fraud

on the creditors part accounts for the debtor's failure to sue within one year of the violation.

Citing Justice Joseph's story, she wrote, every statute is to be expounded reasonably so as to

suppress and not to extend the mischiefs which it was designed to cure.

Not every day you see Justice Ginsburg citing Justice Story.

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