Lynette Chapman v. The Higbee Company, D/B/A Dillard Department Stores, Inc.

I

If there is a first principle among canons of statutory interpretation, it is that a statute is to be enforced according to the plain meaning of its terms. See United States v. Ron Pair Enters., Inc., 489 U.S. 235, 241, 109 S.Ct. 1026, 103 L.Ed.2d 290 (1989); Vergos v. Gregg’s Enters. Inc., 159 F.3d 989, 990 (6th Cir.1998). To some extent, though, the plain meaning rule is a tautology: “Words should be read as saying what they say.” See Reed DicxeRSON, THE INTERPRETATION AND APPLICATION OF STATUTES 229 (Little, Brown & Co.1975). In other words, “[t]he rule tells us to respect meaning but it…