The U.S. Supreme Court announced today that two property owners in Montana will have their day in court to prove that the U.S. Forest Service illegally encroached on their land. It reversed lower courts that accepted the agency’s arguments to dismiss their case on procedural grounds. …

The Ninth Circuit held that the statute of limitations of the Quiet Title Act — which allows property owners to sue the United States over a disputed title to property in which the federal government has claimed an interest — is “jurisdictional,” meaning a court cannot consider the merits of a case if the time limit for the complaint has expired. Wil and Jane’s case was dismissed before they could demonstrate how the Forest Service changed the terms of the easement. In fact, they weren’t even able to fully argue that they brought the case within the time limit.

But the Supreme Court disagreed. Writing for the majority in a 6-3 decision, Justice Sotomayor said “All told, neither this Court’s precedents nor Congress’ actions established that §2409a(g) is jurisdictional.”

[This is an important win to limit the reach of the QTA. The plaintiffs still need to argue their case on the merits of their claim of infringement at the district-court level, but this means that they and other landowners can actually *have* their day in court. — Ed]