WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court on Monday opened the door to new, sweeping challenges to regulations that remain in effect long after they take effect, the third blow to federal agencies in a week.

By a 6-3 majority, the judges ruled in favor of a North Dakota rest stop that plans to sue over a debit card swipe fee rule that a federal appeals court in Washington had upheld ten years ago.

Federal law sets a six-year deadline for comprehensive challenges to regulations. In this case, the Federal Reserve's rule governing the fees merchants must pay banks when customers use a debit card took effect in 2011.

The deadline for filing lawsuits against the regulation ended in 2017.

Corner Post, a truck stop in Watford City in western North Dakota, only opened its doors in 2018.

Nevertheless, a federal appeals court dismissed the lawsuit, saying it was too late.

The company appealed to the Supreme Court. The Biden administration had asked the court to uphold the dismissal because otherwise government agencies would face endless lawsuits.

The decision could take on new significance following last week's ruling that overturned the 1984 Chevron decision that made it easier to enforce regulations across much of American life. The court also stripped the Securities and Exchange Commission of a key tool for fighting securities fraud.

Chief Justice John Roberts summed up the dilemma the court faced when the Corner Post case was heard in February, saying the agencies could face repeated challenges “ten, twenty years later” and “have to keep remaking the universe, so to speak, you know.”

On the other hand, says Roberts, “there is an individual or a company that is harmed by a government action, and you say, 'That's too bad, there's nothing you can do about it, because other people have had six years to do something about it.'”

The legal principle that everyone is entitled to a day in court, Roberts said, “does not apply unless someone else has a day in court.”