Sidley secured an important victory in the U.S. Supreme Court for Corporal Simon Soto, a former Marine, and a class of more than 9,000 veterans who were denied the full extent of their retroactive Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC). In a unanimous opinion, the Supreme Court held that veterans with combat-related disabilities are entitled to receive CRSC benefits for all months in which they are eligible, no matter when they applied for such benefits.
Specifically, in Soto v. United States, the Court ruled that the CRSC statute directs the secretaries of the military departments to determine what amount of CRSC is due to eligible combat-wounded veterans, without regard to the date the veteran applied for CRSC. This decision overturns the Federal Circuit’s ruling that veterans’ claims for CRSC are adjudicated under a separate federal law, the Barring Act, which limits the availability of retroactive benefits. The Court’s decision ensures that these veterans, who were injured serving their country, will receive the full benefits to which they are entitled.
This case is a part of the firm’s long-standing pro bono commitment to veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces. Sidley has represented Corporal Soto from the filing of his initial complaint through today’s decisive victory in the Supreme Court.
Chicago-based partner Tacy Flint argued the appeal in the Supreme Court. Simone Jones, Emily Wexler, Nathaniel Love, Lakeisha Mays, Camille Sanches, and law clerk Kimberly Quick were a part of the team representing the veterans in their petition for certiorari and in briefing on the merits. The firm is co-counsel with National Veterans Legal Services Program on the matter.
