Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
William K. Harrington, United States Trustee, Region 2 v. Clinton Nurseries, Inc., et al.
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, No. 20-1209 · judgment November 10, 2022
Before the decision, about 5× the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a federal-government petitioner, counsel who has won certiorari before, and a Second Circuit decision below, and down for a business respondent.
Question presented
Section 1004(a) of the Bankruptcy Judgeship Act of 2017, Pub. L. No. 115-72, Div. B, 131 Stat. 1232 (28 U.S.C. 1930(a)(6)(B) (2018)), amended the schedule of quarterly fees payable to the United States Trustee in certain pending bankruptcy cases. In Siegel v. Fitzgerald, 142 S. Ct. 1770 (2022), this Court held that that provision contravened Congress’s constitutional authority to “establish * * * uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies,” U.S. Const. Art. I, § 8, Cl. 4, because it was initially applied only in the 88 federal judicial districts that have United States Trustees but not in the 6 districts that have Bankruptcy Administrators. This Court left open the question of “the appropriate remedy” for the violation. Siegel, 142 S. Ct. at 1783. The question presented in this case is: Whether the appropriate remedy for the constitutional uniformity violation found by this Court in Siegel, supra, is to require the United States Trustee to grant retrospective refunds of the increased fees paid by debtors in United States Trustee districts during the period of disuniformity, or is instead either to deem sufficient the prospective remedy adopted by Congress or to require the collection of additional fees from a much smaller number of debtors in Bankruptcy Administrator districts. (I)
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Elizabeth B. Prelogar
Solicitor General
For respondent
George Eric Brunstad Jr.
Dechert LLP
Proceedings
- Jul 26 2024Judgment Issued.
- Jun 24 2024Petition GRANTED. Judgment VACATED and case REMANDED for further consideration in light of United States Trustee v. John Q. Hammons Fall 2006, LLC, 602 U. S. ___ (2024).
- Jun 17 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/20/2024.
- Oct 04 2023DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/27/2023.
- Oct 04 2023Reply of petitioner William K. Harrington, United States Trustee, Region 2 filed. (Distributed)
- Sep 15 2023Brief of respondents Clinton Nurseries, Inc., et al. in opposition filed.
- Aug 08 2023Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including September 15, 2023.
- Aug 04 2023Motion to extend the time to file a response from August 16, 2023 to September 15, 2023, submitted to The Clerk.
- Jul 14 2023Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due August 16, 2023)
- Jun 07 2023Application (22A960) granted by Justice Sotomayor extending the time to file until July 17, 2023.
- Jun 01 2023Application (22A960) to extend further the time from June 16, 2023 to July 17, 2023, submitted to Justice Sotomayor.
- May 03 2023Application (22A960) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from May 18, 2023 to June 16, 2023, submitted to Justice Sotomayor.
- May 03 2023Application (22A960) granted by Justice Sotomayor extending the time to file until June 16, 2023.