{"ID":63690,"name":"United States v. Miller","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/cases\/2024\/23-824","view_count":0,"docket_number":"23-824","additional_docket_numbers":null,"manner_of_jurisdiction":"Writ of \u003Ci\u003Ecertiorari\u003C\/i\u003E","first_party":"United States of America","second_party":"David L. Miller","timeline":[{"event":"Granted","dates":[1719205200],"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_timeline\/case_timeline\/55478"},{"event":"Argued","dates":[1733119200],"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_timeline\/case_timeline\/55545"},{"event":"Decided","dates":[1742965200],"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_timeline\/case_timeline\/55630"}],"lower_court":{"ID":14,"name":"United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/taxonomy\/term\/14"},"facts_of_the_case":"\u003Cp\u003EIn 2014, All Resorts Group, Inc. paid $145,138.78 to the Internal Revenue Service to cover personal tax debts of two of its principals. The company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2017. Subsequently, the United States Trustee initiated an adversary proceeding against the United States to avoid these transfers, relying on Section 544(b)(1) of the Bankruptcy Code and Utah\u0027s Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act. The United States did not contest the substantive elements required to establish a voidable transfer but argued that sovereign immunity would bar an actual creditor from avoiding the tax payments outside of bankruptcy. This prevented the Trustee from satisfying the \u0022actual creditor requirement\u0022 of Section 544(b)(1). The Trustee countered that the sovereign immunity waiver in Section 106(a) of the Bankruptcy Code applied not only to the adversary proceeding but also to the underlying state law cause of action. The bankruptcy court ruled in favor of the Trustee, and both the district court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit affirmed.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n","question":"\u003Cp\u003EMay a bankruptcy trustee avoid a debtor\u2019s tax payment to the United States under 11 U.S.C. \u00a7 544(b) when no actual creditor could have obtained relief under the applicable state fraudulent-transfer law outside of bankruptcy?\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n","conclusion":"\u003Cp\u003ESection 106(a) of the Bankruptcy Code abrogates the Government\u2019s sovereign immunity with respect to a \u00a7544(b) claim but that waiver does not extend to state-law claims nested within that federal claim. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson authored the 8-1 majority opinion of the Court.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Bankruptcy Code allows trustees to \u201cstep into the shoes\u201d of actual creditors to invalidate certain asset transfers, but only if the applicable law permits such action. Sovereign immunity blocks enforcement of state-law fraudulent-transfer claims against the federal government unless Congress has unambiguously waived that immunity. Section 106(a) grants courts jurisdiction to hear certain bankruptcy claims against the government, including \u00a7544(b) claims, but it explicitly states that it does not create any new substantive rights or causes of action. Because \u00a7544(b) requires that an identifiable unsecured creditor could have prevailed under applicable law outside bankruptcy, and because sovereign immunity would bar that creditor\u2019s state-law suit against the federal government, the trustee cannot rely on \u00a7544(b) to void the transfer here.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Court rejected the trustee\u2019s arguments that the phrase \u201cwith respect to\u201d in \u00a7106(a) broadened the waiver and that legislative history supported a more expansive reading. Instead, the Court emphasized that sovereign immunity waivers must be interpreted narrowly and that nothing in the statutory text clearly waived immunity for the necessary underlying state-law cause of action. Because no \u201cactual creditor\u201d could sue the federal government under Utah law, the trustee\u2019s \u00a7544(b) claim fails.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EJustice Neil Gorsuch authored a dissenting opinion.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n","advocates":[{"advocate":{"ID":63518,"name":"Yaira Dubin","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/yaira_dubin","view_count":0,"last_name":"Dubin","roles":null,"thumbnail":null,"length_of_service":0,"identifier":"yaira_dubin"},"advocate_description":"for the Petitioner","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_advocate\/case_advocate\/23641"},{"advocate":{"ID":34185,"name":"Lisa S. Blatt","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/lisa_s_blatt","view_count":0,"last_name":"Blatt","roles":null,"thumbnail":null,"length_of_service":0,"identifier":"lisa_s_blatt"},"advocate_description":"for the Respondent","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_advocate\/case_advocate\/23642"}],"oral_argument_audio":[{"id":25674,"title":"Oral Argument - December 02, 2024","public_note":null,"unavailable":false,"display_title":null,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_media\/oral_argument_audio\/25674"}],"citation":{"volume":"604","page":null,"year":"2025","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_citation\/case_citation\/28024"},"decisions":null,"first_party_label":"Petitioner","second_party_label":"Respondent","heard_by":[{"ID":63493,"name":"Roberts Court (2022-)","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/courts\/roberts13","view_count":0,"members":[{"ID":15086,"name":"John G. Roberts, Jr.","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/john_g_roberts_jr","view_count":0,"last_name":"Roberts","roles":[{"id":2730,"type":"scotus_justice","date_start":1127970000,"date_end":0,"appointing_president":"George W. Bush","role_title":"Chief Justice of the United States","institution_name":"Supreme Court of the United States","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/preson_role\/scotus_justice\/2730"}],"thumbnail":{"id":32683,"mime":"image\/png","size":52305,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/people\/john_g_roberts_jr\/john_g_roberts_jr.thumb.png"},"length_of_service":7428,"identifier":"john_g_roberts_jr"},{"ID":15100,"name":"Clarence Thomas","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/clarence_thomas","view_count":0,"last_name":"Thomas","roles":[{"id":2744,"type":"scotus_justice","date_start":688194000,"date_end":0,"appointing_president":"George H. W. Bush","role_title":"Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States","institution_name":"Supreme Court of the United States","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/preson_role\/scotus_justice\/2744"}],"thumbnail":{"id":32680,"mime":"image\/png","size":49064,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/people\/clarence_thomas\/clarence_thomas.thumb.png"},"length_of_service":12518,"identifier":"clarence_thomas"},{"ID":15068,"name":"Samuel A. Alito, Jr.","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/samuel_a_alito_jr","view_count":0,"last_name":"Alito","roles":[{"id":2712,"type":"scotus_justice","date_start":1138687200,"date_end":0,"appointing_president":"George W. Bush","role_title":"Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States","institution_name":"Supreme Court of the United States","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/preson_role\/scotus_justice\/2712"}],"thumbnail":{"id":32684,"mime":"image\/png","size":44799,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/people\/samuel_alito_jr\/samuel_alito_jr.thumb.png"},"length_of_service":7304,"identifier":"samuel_a_alito_jr"},{"ID":15131,"name":"Sonia Sotomayor","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/sonia_sotomayor","view_count":0,"last_name":"Sotomayor","roles":[{"id":2776,"type":"scotus_justice","date_start":1249707600,"date_end":0,"appointing_president":"Barack Obama","role_title":"Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States","institution_name":"Supreme Court of the United States","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/preson_role\/scotus_justice\/2776"}],"thumbnail":{"id":32685,"mime":"image\/png","size":50379,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/people\/sonia_sotomayor\/sonia_sotomayor.thumb.png"},"length_of_service":6019,"identifier":"sonia_sotomayor"},{"ID":15094,"name":"Elena Kagan","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/elena_kagan","view_count":0,"last_name":"Kagan","roles":[{"id":2738,"type":"scotus_justice","date_start":1281157200,"date_end":0,"appointing_president":"Barack Obama","role_title":"Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States","institution_name":"Supreme Court of the United States","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/preson_role\/scotus_justice\/2738"}],"thumbnail":{"id":32690,"mime":"image\/png","size":44456,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/people\/elena_kagan\/elena_kagan.thumb.png"},"length_of_service":5655,"identifier":"elena_kagan"},{"ID":62836,"name":"Neil Gorsuch","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/neil_gorsuch","view_count":0,"last_name":"Gorsuch","roles":[{"id":3506,"type":"scotus_justice","date_start":1491541200,"date_end":0,"appointing_president":"Donald J. Trump","role_title":"Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States","institution_name":"Supreme Court of the United States","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/preson_role\/scotus_justice\/3506"}],"thumbnail":{"id":79753,"mime":"image\/png","size":121461,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/sites\/default\/files\/filefield_paths\/neil_gorsuch.thumb__0.png"},"length_of_service":3220,"identifier":"neil_gorsuch"},{"ID":17766,"name":"Brett M. Kavanaugh","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/brett_m_kavanaugh","view_count":0,"last_name":"Kavanaugh","roles":[{"id":3507,"type":"scotus_justice","date_start":1538802000,"date_end":0,"appointing_president":"Donald J. Trump","role_title":"Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States","institution_name":"Supreme Court of the United States","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/preson_role\/scotus_justice\/3507"}],"thumbnail":{"id":80518,"mime":"image\/png","size":91566,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/sites\/default\/files\/filefield_paths\/Kavanaugh-thumb.png"},"length_of_service":2673,"identifier":"brett_m_kavanaugh"},{"ID":63282,"name":"Amy Coney Barrett","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/amy_coney_barrett","view_count":0,"last_name":"Barrett","roles":[{"id":3511,"type":"scotus_justice","date_start":1603774800,"date_end":0,"appointing_president":"Donald J. Trump","role_title":"Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States","institution_name":"Supreme Court of the United States","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/preson_role\/scotus_justice\/3511"}],"thumbnail":{"id":81207,"mime":"image\/png","size":47722,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/sites\/default\/files\/filefield_paths\/barret-thumb.png"},"length_of_service":1921,"identifier":"amy_coney_barrett"},{"ID":33869,"name":"Ketanji Brown Jackson","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/ketanji_brown_jackson","view_count":0,"last_name":"Jackson","roles":[{"id":3520,"type":"scotus_justice","date_start":1656565200,"date_end":0,"appointing_president":null,"role_title":"Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States","institution_name":"Supreme Court of the United States","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/preson_role\/scotus_justice\/3520"}],"thumbnail":{"id":82011,"mime":"image\/png","size":58056,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/sites\/default\/files\/filefield_paths\/thumbnail_ketanji_brown_jackson.png"},"length_of_service":1310,"identifier":"ketanji_brown_jackson"}],"court_start":1656565200,"images":null,"identifier":"roberts13"}],"decided_by":{"ID":63493,"name":"Roberts Court (2022-)","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/courts\/roberts13","view_count":0,"members":[{"ID":15086,"name":"John G. Roberts, Jr.","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/john_g_roberts_jr","view_count":0,"last_name":"Roberts","roles":[{"id":2730,"type":"scotus_justice","date_start":1127970000,"date_end":0,"appointing_president":"George W. Bush","role_title":"Chief Justice of the United States","institution_name":"Supreme Court of the United States","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/preson_role\/scotus_justice\/2730"}],"thumbnail":{"id":32683,"mime":"image\/png","size":52305,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/people\/john_g_roberts_jr\/john_g_roberts_jr.thumb.png"},"length_of_service":7428,"identifier":"john_g_roberts_jr"},{"ID":15100,"name":"Clarence Thomas","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/clarence_thomas","view_count":0,"last_name":"Thomas","roles":[{"id":2744,"type":"scotus_justice","date_start":688194000,"date_end":0,"appointing_president":"George H. W. Bush","role_title":"Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States","institution_name":"Supreme Court of the United States","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/preson_role\/scotus_justice\/2744"}],"thumbnail":{"id":32680,"mime":"image\/png","size":49064,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/people\/clarence_thomas\/clarence_thomas.thumb.png"},"length_of_service":12518,"identifier":"clarence_thomas"},{"ID":15068,"name":"Samuel A. Alito, Jr.","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/samuel_a_alito_jr","view_count":0,"last_name":"Alito","roles":[{"id":2712,"type":"scotus_justice","date_start":1138687200,"date_end":0,"appointing_president":"George W. Bush","role_title":"Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States","institution_name":"Supreme Court of the United States","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/preson_role\/scotus_justice\/2712"}],"thumbnail":{"id":32684,"mime":"image\/png","size":44799,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/people\/samuel_alito_jr\/samuel_alito_jr.thumb.png"},"length_of_service":7304,"identifier":"samuel_a_alito_jr"},{"ID":15131,"name":"Sonia Sotomayor","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/sonia_sotomayor","view_count":0,"last_name":"Sotomayor","roles":[{"id":2776,"type":"scotus_justice","date_start":1249707600,"date_end":0,"appointing_president":"Barack Obama","role_title":"Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States","institution_name":"Supreme Court of the United States","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/preson_role\/scotus_justice\/2776"}],"thumbnail":{"id":32685,"mime":"image\/png","size":50379,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/people\/sonia_sotomayor\/sonia_sotomayor.thumb.png"},"length_of_service":6019,"identifier":"sonia_sotomayor"},{"ID":15094,"name":"Elena Kagan","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/elena_kagan","view_count":0,"last_name":"Kagan","roles":[{"id":2738,"type":"scotus_justice","date_start":1281157200,"date_end":0,"appointing_president":"Barack Obama","role_title":"Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States","institution_name":"Supreme Court of the United States","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/preson_role\/scotus_justice\/2738"}],"thumbnail":{"id":32690,"mime":"image\/png","size":44456,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/people\/elena_kagan\/elena_kagan.thumb.png"},"length_of_service":5655,"identifier":"elena_kagan"},{"ID":62836,"name":"Neil Gorsuch","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/neil_gorsuch","view_count":0,"last_name":"Gorsuch","roles":[{"id":3506,"type":"scotus_justice","date_start":1491541200,"date_end":0,"appointing_president":"Donald J. Trump","role_title":"Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States","institution_name":"Supreme Court of the United States","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/preson_role\/scotus_justice\/3506"}],"thumbnail":{"id":79753,"mime":"image\/png","size":121461,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/sites\/default\/files\/filefield_paths\/neil_gorsuch.thumb__0.png"},"length_of_service":3220,"identifier":"neil_gorsuch"},{"ID":17766,"name":"Brett M. Kavanaugh","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/brett_m_kavanaugh","view_count":0,"last_name":"Kavanaugh","roles":[{"id":3507,"type":"scotus_justice","date_start":1538802000,"date_end":0,"appointing_president":"Donald J. Trump","role_title":"Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States","institution_name":"Supreme Court of the United States","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/preson_role\/scotus_justice\/3507"}],"thumbnail":{"id":80518,"mime":"image\/png","size":91566,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/sites\/default\/files\/filefield_paths\/Kavanaugh-thumb.png"},"length_of_service":2673,"identifier":"brett_m_kavanaugh"},{"ID":63282,"name":"Amy Coney Barrett","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/amy_coney_barrett","view_count":0,"last_name":"Barrett","roles":[{"id":3511,"type":"scotus_justice","date_start":1603774800,"date_end":0,"appointing_president":"Donald J. Trump","role_title":"Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States","institution_name":"Supreme Court of the United States","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/preson_role\/scotus_justice\/3511"}],"thumbnail":{"id":81207,"mime":"image\/png","size":47722,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/sites\/default\/files\/filefield_paths\/barret-thumb.png"},"length_of_service":1921,"identifier":"amy_coney_barrett"},{"ID":33869,"name":"Ketanji Brown Jackson","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/ketanji_brown_jackson","view_count":0,"last_name":"Jackson","roles":[{"id":3520,"type":"scotus_justice","date_start":1656565200,"date_end":0,"appointing_president":null,"role_title":"Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States","institution_name":"Supreme Court of the United States","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/preson_role\/scotus_justice\/3520"}],"thumbnail":{"id":82011,"mime":"image\/png","size":58056,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/sites\/default\/files\/filefield_paths\/thumbnail_ketanji_brown_jackson.png"},"length_of_service":1310,"identifier":"ketanji_brown_jackson"}],"court_start":1656565200,"images":null,"identifier":"roberts13"},"term":"2024","location":null,"opinion_announcement":[{"id":25884,"title":"Opinion Announcement - March 26, 2025","unavailable":false,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_media\/opinion_announcement_audio\/25884"}],"description":"A case in which the Court held that \u00a7 106(a) of the Bankruptcy Code abrogates the Government\u2019s sovereign immunity with respect to a \u00a7544(b) claim, but that waiver does not extend to state-law claims nested within that federal claim.","written_opinion":[{"id":17902,"title":"Dissenting opinion","author":null,"type":{"value":"dissenting","label":"Dissenting opinion"},"justia_opinion_id":5026935,"justia_opinion_url":"https:\/\/supreme.justia.com\/cases\/federal\/us\/604\/23-824\/","judge_full_name":"Neil M. Gorsuch","judge_last_name":"Gorsuch","title_overwrite":null,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_document\/written_opinion\/17902"},{"id":17903,"title":"Opinion of the Court","author":null,"type":{"value":"majority","label":"Opinion of the Court"},"justia_opinion_id":5026936,"justia_opinion_url":"https:\/\/supreme.justia.com\/cases\/federal\/us\/604\/23-824\/","judge_full_name":"Ketanji Brown Jackson","judge_last_name":"Jackson","title_overwrite":null,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_document\/written_opinion\/17903"},{"id":17904,"title":"Syllabus","author":null,"type":{"value":"syllabus","label":"Syllabus"},"justia_opinion_id":5026937,"justia_opinion_url":"https:\/\/supreme.justia.com\/cases\/federal\/us\/604\/23-824\/","judge_full_name":null,"judge_last_name":null,"title_overwrite":null,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_document\/written_opinion\/17904"}],"related_cases":null,"justia_url":"https:\/\/supreme.justia.com\/cases\/federal\/us\/604\/23-824\/","argument2_url":null}