Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Petitioner v. Melissa Cloer

Decided May 20, 2013. Sonia Sotomayor delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 12-236 · 569 U.S. 369 (2013) · Cited 919 times

Holding

An untimely NCVIA petition may qualify for an award of attorney’s fees if it is filed in good faith and there is a reasonable basis for its claim.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 9–0.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Bruesewitz v. Wyeth LLC · 562 U.S. 223 (2011)
• Artuz v. Bennett · 531 U.S. 4 (2000)
• Connecticut National Bank v. Germain · 503 U.S. 249 (1992)
• United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
• Hartford Underwriters Insurance v. Union Planters Bank, N. A. · 530 U.S. 1 (2000)
• Barnhart v. Sigmon Coal Co. · 534 U.S. 438 (2002)
• United States v. Texas · 507 U.S. 529 (1993)
• Milavetz, Gallop & Milavetz, P. A. v. United States · 559 U.S. 229 (2010)
• Bates v. United States · 522 U.S. 23 (1997)
• Shalala v. Whitecotton · 514 U.S. 268 (1995)
• BP America Production Co. Ex Rel. Amoco Production Co. v. Burton · 549 U.S. 84 (2006)
• Sebelius v. Auburn Regional Medical Center · 568 U.S. 145 (2013)
• John R. Sand & Gravel Co. v. United States · 552 U.S. 130 (2008)
• John R. Sand & Gravel Co. v. United States · 552 U.S. 130 (2008)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Peter v. NantKwest, Inc. · 589 U.S. 23 (2019)
• Life Technologies Corp. v. Promega Corp. · 580 U.S. 140 (2017)
• Azar v. Allina Health Services · 587 U.S. 566 (2019)
• Mississippi Ex Rel. Hood v. AU Optronics Corp. · 571 U.S. 161 (2014)
• Polselli v. IRS · 598 U.S. 432 (2023)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Sonia Sotomayor’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2013). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).