Acosta-Febo v. Franklin California Tax-Free Trust
Consolidated with:
| Docket No. | Op. Below | Argument | Opinion | Vote | Author | Term |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15-255 | 1st Cir. | Mar 22, 2016 | Jun 13, 2016 | 5-2 | Thomas | OT 2015 |
Holding: Section 903(1) of the Bankruptcy Code, which preempts state bankruptcy laws that enable insolvent municipalities to restructure their debts over the objections of creditors and instead requires municipalities to restructure such debts under Chapter 9 of the federal Bankruptcy Code, preempts the Puerto Rico Public Corporation Debt Enforcement and Recovery Act, which was enacted to enable the commonwealth's public utilities to implement a recovery or restructuring plan for their debt.
Judgment: Affirmed, 5-2, in an opinion by Justice Thomas on June 13, 2016. Justice Sotomayor filed a dissenting opinion, in which Justice Ginsburg joined. Justice Alito took no part in the consideration or decision.
SCOTUSblog Coverage
- Opinion analysis: Puerto Rico's debt woes left to Congress (Lyle Denniston, June 13, 2016)
- Argument analysis: If only Congress had taken the time to explain . . . (Lyle Denniston, March 22, 2016)
- Argument preview: Puerto Rico's plea for debt rescue (Lyle Denniston, March 15, 2016)
- Court to rule on Puerto Rico debt-relief options (Lyle Denniston, December 4, 2015)
| Date | Proceedings and Orders |
|---|---|
| 08/26/2015 | Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due September 30, 2015) |
| 09/14/2015 | Order extending time to file response to petition to and including October 23, 2015, for all respondents. |
| 09/30/2015 | Brief amicus curiae of Eduardo Bahatia, President of the Senate of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico filed. |
| 10/23/2015 | Brief of respondent BlueMountain Capital Management, LLC in opposition filed. VIDED. |
| 10/23/2015 | Brief of respondents Franklin California Tax-Free Trust, et al. in opposition filed. VIDED. |
| 11/09/2015 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of November 24, 2015. |
| 11/09/2015 | Reply of petitioners Melba Acosta-Febo, et al. filed. (Distributed) |
| 11/30/2015 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of December 4, 2015. |
| 12/04/2015 | Petition GRANTED. The petition for a writ of certiorari in No. 15-233 is GRANTED. The cases are consolidated and a total of one hour is allotted for oral argument. Justice Alito took no part in the consideration or decision of these petitions. |
| 01/19/2016 | Joint appendix filed. (Two Volumes) VIDED. (Statement of costs filed) |
| 01/19/2016 | Brief of petitioners Melba Acosta-Febo, et al. filed. VIDED. |
| 01/25/2016 | Consent to the filing of amicus curiae briefs in support of either party or of neither party received from counsel for the petitioners. |
| 01/25/2016 | Brief amici curiae of Colegio de Abogados y Abogadas de Puerto Rico, et al. filed. VIDED. |
| 01/26/2016 | Consent to the filing of amicus curiae briefs, in support of either party or of neither party, received from counsel for respondent BlueMountain Capital Management, LLC ("BlueMountain"). VIDED |
| 01/26/2016 | Brief amicus curiae of Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority filed. VIDED. |
| 01/26/2016 | Brief amici curiae of Professors Clayton P. Gillette and David A. Skeel, Jr. filed. VIDED. |
| 01/26/2016 | Brief amici curiae of LatinoJustice PRLDEF, et al. filed. VIDED. |
| 01/26/2016 | Brief amici curiae of Puerto Rico Manufacturers Association filed. VIDED |
| 01/29/2016 | SET FOR ARGUMENT ON Tuesday, March 22, 2016. VIDED |
| 02/01/2016 | Consent to the filing of amicus curiae briefs, in support of either party or of neither party, received from counsel for respondents Franklin California Tax-Free Trust, et al. |
| 02/08/2016 | Record requested from U.S.C.A. 1st Circuit. |
| 02/10/2016 | CIRCULATED. |
| 02/10/2016 | Record received from U.S.D.C. District of Puerto Rico is electronic and located on PACER. |
| 02/11/2016 | Record received from U.S.C.A. 1st Circuit is electronic and located on PACER, with the exception of Joint Appendix. (1 Box) |
| 02/18/2016 | Brief of respondent BlueMountain Capital Management, LLC filed. VIDED. (Distributed) |
| 02/18/2016 | Brief of respondents Franklin California Tax-Free Trust, et al. filed. VIDED. (Distributed) |
| 02/25/2016 | Brief amicus curiae of Scotiabank de Puerto Rico, as Agent for Local Bank Lenders to PREPA filed. VIDED. (Distributed) |
| 02/25/2016 | Brief amicus curiae of The Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America filed. VIDED. (Distributed) |
| 02/25/2016 | Brief amicus curiae of The Association of Financial Guaranty Insurers filed. VIDED. (Distributed) |
| 03/15/2016 | Reply of petitioners Melba Acosta-Febo, et al. filed. VIDED. (Distributed) |
| 03/22/2016 | Argued. For petitioners: Christopher Landau, Washington, D. C. For respondents: Matthew D. McGill, Washington, D. C. VIDED |
| 06/13/2016 | Adjudged to be AFFIRMED. Thomas, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Roberts, C. J., and Kennedy, Breyer, and Kagan, JJ., joined. Sotomayor, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which Ginsburg, J., joined. Alito, J., took no part in the consideration or decision of these cases. VIDED |
| 07/15/2016 | JUDGMENT ISSUED |