Estate of Cowart v. Nicklos Drilling Co., 505 U.S. 469, 8 (1992)

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476

ESTATE OF COWART v. NICKLOS DRILLING CO.

Opinion of the Court

The controlling principle in this case is the basic and unexceptional rule that courts must give effect to the clear meaning of statutes as written. The principle can at times come into some tension with another fundamental principle of our law, one requiring judicial deference to a reasonable statutory interpretation by an administering agency. Chevron U. S. A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 467 U. S. 837 (1984); National Railroad Passenger Corporation v. Boston & Maine Corp., 503 U. S. 407, 417 (1992). Of course, a reviewing court should not defer to an agency position which is contrary to an intent of Congress expressed in unambiguous terms. K mart Corp. v. Cartier, Inc., 486 U. S. 281, 291 (1988); Chevron, supra, at 842-843. In any event, we need not resolve any tension of that sort here, because the Director of the OWCP and the Department of Labor have altered their position regarding the best interpretation of § 33(g). The Director appears as a respondent before us, arguing in favor of the Court of Appeals' statutory interpretation, and contrary to his previous position. See Brief for Federal Respondent 8, n. 6. If the Director asked us to defer to his new statutory interpretation, this case might present a difficult question regarding whether and under what circumstances deference is due to an interpretation formulated during litigation. See Bowen v. Georgetown Univ. Hospital, 488 U. S. 204, 212-213 (1988); Martin v. Occupational Safety and Health Review Comm'n, 499 U. S. 144, 158 (1991). The agency does not ask this, however. Instead, the federal respondent argues that the Court of Appeals was correct in saying the language of § 33(g) is plain and cannot support the interpretation given it by the Board. Because we agree with the federal respondent and the Court of Appeals, and because Cowart concedes that the position of the BRB is not entitled to any special deference, see Brief for Petitioner 25; see also Potomac Electric Power Co. v. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, 449 U. S. 268, 278, n. 18 (1980); Martin v. Occupational Safety and

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