Wilkins v. U.S.
Wilkins v. U.S. is a jurisdictional case about the Quiet Title Act, a law that was enacted to help resolve property disputes related to the federal government. The Act has a statute of limitations of 12 years and Wilkins, and another person, brought the case late. Wilkins argues that the statute is a “claims-processing” one, and not a jurisdictional one. This matters because jurisdictional statutes prevent the court from hearing the case at all, while claims-processing rules can allow equitable tolling to extend the time under which the lawsuit can be filed. The U.S. argues that it is jurisdictional and so the time to file has expired.
If Wilkins wins, he will get to argue in the lower courts that his case should be tolled.
If the U.S. wins, cases brought under this law will have a strict statute of limitations.