Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Alfred H. Siegel, Trustee of the Circuit City Stores, Inc. Liquidating Trust v. John P. Fitzgerald, III, Acting United States Trustee for Region 4
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, No. 19-2240, 19-2255 · judgment April 29, 2021
Before the decision, about 4.5× the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for counsel who has won certiorari before, a circuit split argued in the petition, and a dissent in the court below (flagged in the petition).
Question presented
This case presents a clear and acknowledged conflict over the constitutionality of a federal statute governing the quarterly fees in large Chapter 11 bankruptcies. The Bankruptcy Clause authorizes Congress to "establish * * * uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States." Notwithstanding this directive, Congress has divided the nation's bankruptcy courts into two distinct programs: 88 judicial districts operate under the U.S. Trustee program, and 6 judicial districts (all in North Carolina and Alabama) operate under the Bankruptcy Administrator program. Each program generally performs similar tasks, and each program-until recently-imposed the same quarterly fees on Chapter 11 debtors in their districts. In the Bankruptcy Judgeship Act of 2017, however, Congress adopted a five-year increase in quarterly fees paid only in U.S. Trustee districts-increasing the maximum fee from $30,000 to $250,000 for all pending cases. 28 U.S.C. 1930(a)(6)(B) (2018). That same increase was not imposed in Administrator districts until nine months later, and it applied only to cases filed after that date. The result is a wide disparity in fees paid by identically situated debtors based solely on the geographic location of their bankruptcy. The total difference exceeds $100 million in aggregate fees in Chapter 11 cases nationwide. In the decision below, the Fourth Circuit joined the Fifth Circuit (each over dissents) in upholding these non-uniform fees; the Second Circuit has rejected those decisions and declared the 2017 Act unconstitutional. The question presented is: Whether the Bankruptcy Judgeship Act violates the uniformity requirement of the Bankruptcy Clause by increasing quarterly fees solely in U.S. Trustee districts.
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Daniel L. Geyser
Haynes and Boone, LLP
For respondent
Elizabeth B. Prelogar
Solicitor General
Case
Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference
Amicus briefs
5 merits
(5 supporting pet./neither)
Argument & decision
Argued April 18, 2022 — Daniel L. Geyser · Curtis E. Gannon. Audio and transcript
Decided June 6, 2022. Opinion by Sotomayor.
Proceedings
- Jul 08 2022JUDGMENT ISSUED
- Jun 06 2022Judgment REVERSED and case REMANDED. Sotomayor, J., delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court.
- Apr 18 2022Argued. For petitioner: Daniel L. Geyser, Dallas, Tex. For respondent: Curtis E. Gannon, Deputy Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C.
- Apr 08 2022Reply of petitioner Alfred H. Siegel, Trustee of the Circuit City Stores, Inc. Liquidating Trust filed. (Distributed)
- Mar 28 2022Brief of respondent John P. Fitzgerald, III, Acting United States Trustee for Region 4 filed. (Distributed)
- Mar 23 2022CIRCULATED
- Mar 21 2022The record from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court Eastern District of Virginia is electronic and located on Pacer.
- Mar 17 2022The record from the U.S.C.A. 4th Circuit is electronic and located on PACER.
- Mar 16 2022Record requested from the U.S.C.A. 4th Circuit.
- Mar 15 2022ARGUMENT SET FOR Monday, April 18, 2022.
- Mar 03 2022Brief amicus curiae of MF Global Holdings Ltd., as Plan Administrator filed.
- Mar 03 2022Brief amicus curiae of USA Sales, Inc. filed.
- Mar 03 2022Brief amicus curiae of The Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America filed.
- Mar 03 2022Brief amici curiae of John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts, et al. filed.
- Feb 28 2022Brief amici curiae of Acadiana Management Group, LLC, et al. filed.
- Feb 24 2022Brief of petitioner Alfred H. Siegel, Trustee of the Circuit City Stores, Inc. Liquidating Trust filed.
- Feb 22 2022Motion to dispense with printing the joint appendix filed by petitioner GRANTED.
- Jan 31 2022Motion to dispense with printing the joint appendix filed by petitioner Alfred H. Siegel, Trustee of the Circuit City Stores, Inc. Liquidating Trust.
- Jan 10 2022Petition GRANTED.
- Dec 15 2021DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/7/2022.
- Dec 09 2021Waiver of the 14-day waiting period under 15.5 filed.
- Dec 08 2021Brief of respondent John P. Fitzgerald, III, Acting United States Trustee for Region 4 in opposition filed.
- Nov 05 2021Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including December 8, 2021.
- Nov 04 2021Motion to extend the time to file a response from November 22, 2021 to December 8, 2021, submitted to The Clerk.
- Oct 13 2021Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including November 22, 2021.
- Oct 12 2021Motion to extend the time to file a response from October 22, 2021 to November 22, 2021, submitted to The Clerk.
- Sep 20 2021Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due October 22, 2021)