District of Columbia Transfer Tax Case Sparks Loper Bright Probe

A three-judge panel of Washington, D.C.'s high court at oral arguments Wednesday investigated how the US Supreme Court’s new agency deference standard applies to courts in the district as part of a dispute over a $5.9 million transfer tax refund.

The district government issued an emergency “clarification” amendment to codify deference to its own agencies after the Supreme Court gutted the Chevron doctrine in 2023’s Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo. The doctrine required courts to defer to agency interpretations of ambiguous laws.

District of Columbia Court of Appeals Judge Roy W. McLeese jumped in at the start of arguments ...