Supreme Court Report

Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →

U.S. Bank National Association, Trustee, By and Through CWCapital Asset Management LLC v. The Village at Lakeridge, LLC

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, No. 13-60038, 13-60039 · judgment February 8, 2016

Decided · March 5, 2018
At-filing estimate: 2% cert probability
The Solicitor General's brief was filed February 13, 2017

Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.

Questions presented

Granted limited to question 2 presented by the petition. Bankruptcy courts can only confirm a chapter 11 plan of reorganization over a secured creditor's objection if at least one impaired, consenting class of creditors votes to accept the plan (excluding the votes of insiders). 11 U.S.C. § 1129(a)(10). This is known as "cramdown." This case presents the following questions:

  1. Whether an assignee of an insider claim acquires the original claimant's insider status, such that his or her vote to confirm a cramdown plan cannot be counted under 11 U.S.C.§ 1129(a) (10); 2.Whether the appropriate standard of review for determining non-statutory insider status is the de novo standard of review applied by the Third, Seventh and Tenth Circuit Courts of Appeal, or the clearly erroneous standard of review adopted for the first time by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal in this action; and

  2. Whether the proper test for determining non-statutory insider status requires bankruptcy courts to conduct an "arm's length" analysis as applied by the Third, Seventh and Tenth Circuit Courts of Appeal, or to apply a "functional equivalent" test which looks to factors comparable to those enumerated for statutory insider classifications as erroneously applied for the first time by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal in this action.

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Gregory A. Cross
Venable LLP

For respondent
Daniel L. Geyser
Haynes and Boone, LLP

Case

Subject area
Economic Activity (estimated from the questions presented, in the Supreme Court Database’s categories)

Conference history
Distributed for 3 conferences

Amicus briefs
1 cert-stage · 1 merits
(1 respondent)

Argument & decision

Argued October 31, 2017 — Gregory A. Cross · Daniel L. Geyser. Listen and read along · the Court’s audio

Decided March 5, 2018. Opinion by Kagan.

Proceedings

  1. Apr 06 2018
    JUDGMENT ISSUED.
  2. Mar 05 2018
    Adjudged to be AFFIRMED. Kagan, J., delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court. Kennedy, J., filed a concurring opinion. Sotomayor, J., filed a concurring opinion, in which Kennedy, Thomas, and Gorsuch, JJ., joined.
  3. Oct 31 2017
    Argued. For petitioners: Gregory A. Cross, Baltimore, Md. For respondents: Daniel L. Geyser, Dallas, Tex.; and Morgan Goodspeed, Assistant to the Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. (for United States, as amicus curiae.)
  4. Sep 25 2017
    Motion of the Solicitor General for leave to participate in oral argument as amicus curiae and for divided argument GRANTED.
  5. Sep 12 2017
    Record requested from the U.S.C.A. 9th Circuit.
  6. Sep 11 2017
    Reply of petitioners U.S. Bank National Association, Trustee, et al. filed. (Distributed)
  7. Sep 07 2017
    CIRCULATED
  8. Aug 31 2017
    SET FOR ARGUMENT on Tuesday, October 31, 2017.
  9. Aug 18 2017
    Motion of the Acting Solicitor General for leave to participate in oral argument as amicus curiae and for divided argument filed.
  10. Aug 18 2017
    Brief amicus curiae of the United States filed.
  11. Aug 11 2017
    Brief of respondent The Village at Lakeridge, LLC filed.
  12. Jun 12 2017
    Joint appendix filed.
  13. Jun 12 2017
    Brief of petitioner U.S. Bank National Association, Trustee, et al. filed.
  14. Apr 21 2017
    The time to file the joint appendix and petitioners' brief on the merits is extended to and including June 12, 2017.
  15. Apr 21 2017
    The time to file respondents' brief on the merits is extended to and including August 11, 2017.
  16. Mar 27 2017
    Petition GRANTED limited to Question 2 presented by the petition.
  17. Mar 20 2017
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of March 24, 2017.
  18. Mar 01 2017
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of March 17, 2017.
  19. Feb 28 2017
    Reply of petitioner U.S. Bank National Association, Trustee, et al. filed.
  20. Feb 13 2017
    Brief amicus curiae of United States filed.
  21. Oct 03 2016
    The Acting Solicitor General is invited to file a brief in this case expressing the views of the United States.
  22. Aug 31 2016
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of September 26, 2016.
  23. Aug 15 2016
    Brief of respondent The Village at Lakeridge, LLC in opposition filed.
  24. Jul 12 2016
    Order extending time to file response to petition to and including August 15, 2016, for all respondents.
  25. Jun 13 2016
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due July 15, 2016)