Collins v. Yellen
Consolidated with:
| Docket No. | Op. Below | Argument | Opinion | Vote | Author | Term |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19-422 | 5th Cir. | Dec 9, 2020 | Jun 23, 2021 | 7-2 | Alito | OT 2020 |
Holding: Because the Federal Housing Finance Agency did not exceed its authority under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 as a conservator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the anti-injunction provisions of the Recovery Act bar the statutory claim brought by shareholders of those entities; the Recovery Act"s structure, which restricts the President"s power to remove the FHFA director, violates the separation of powers.
Judgment: Affirmed in part, reversed in part, vacated in part and remanded, 7-2, in an opinion by Justice Alito on June 23, 2021. Justice Gorsuch joined the opinion as to all but Part III"C, Justices Kagan and Breyer joined as to all but Part III"B, and Justice Sotomayor joined as to Parts I, II, and III"C. Justice Thomas filed a concurring opinion. Justice Gorsuch filed an opinion concurring in part. Justice Kagan filed an opinion concurring in part and concurring in the judgment, in which Justices Breyer and Sotomayor joined as to Part II. Justice Sotomayor filed an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part, in which Justice Breyer joined.
SCOTUSblog Coverage
- Despite constitutional violation, court rejects broad relief for shareholders of mortgage giants (Amy Howe, June 23, 2021)
- Argument analysis: Very hard questions in dispute over Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac shareholder suit (Amy Howe, December 10, 2020)
- Case preview: The $124 billion questions Justices to hear argument in dispute over Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac shareholder suit (Amy Howe, December 9, 2020)
- Justices release December calendar (Amy Howe, September 16, 2020)
- Justices appoint Utah law professor to defend structure of Federal Housing Finance Agency (Amy Howe, August 17, 2020)
- Relist Watch: The final countdown (SCOTUSblog, July 9, 2020)
- Before the summer recess, one last set of grants (Amy Howe, July 9, 2020)
- Justices issue more orders, but no action on high-profile cases (Amy Howe, January 13, 2020)
| Date | Proceedings and Orders |
|---|---|
| 09/25/2019 | Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due October 30, 2019) |
| 10/30/2019 | Brief of respondents Mnuchin, Steven T., et al. in opposition filed. |
| 10/30/2019 | Brief amicus curiae of Blackwells Capital LLC filed. |
| 11/12/2019 | Reply of petitioners Patrick J. Collins, et al. filed. |
| 12/11/2019 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/10/2020. |
| 06/29/2020 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 7/1/2020. |
| 07/08/2020 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 7/8/2020. |
| 07/09/2020 | Petition GRANTED. The petition for a writ of certiorari in No. 19-563 is granted. The cases are consolidated, and a total of one hour is allotted for oral argument. VIDED. |
| 07/09/2020 | Because the Court has consolidated these cases for briefing and oral argument, future filings and activity in the cases will now be reflected on the docket of No. 19-422. Subsequent filings in these cases must therefore be submitted through the electronic filing system in No. 19-422. Each document submitted in connection with one or more of these cases must include on its cover the case number and caption for each case in which the filing is intended to be submitted. Where a filing is submitted in fewer than all of the cases, the docket entry will reflect the case number(s) in which the filing is submitted; a document filed in all of the consolidated cases will be noted as “VIDED.” |
| 08/17/2020 | Aaron Nielson, Esquire, of Provo, Utah, is invited to brief and argue, as amicus curiae, in support of the position that the structure of the Federal Housing Finance Agency does not violate the separation of powers. VIDED. |
| 08/17/2020 | Joint appendix filed. (Statement of costs filed 5/12/21). VIDED. |
| 08/17/2020 | Brief of Federal Parties filed. (in 19-563) |
| 08/18/2020 | Mnuchin, et al., shall file an opening brief on the questions presented by the petition in No. 19-563, limited to 13,000 words, by Monday, August 17, 2020. Collins, et al., shall file a consolidated response in No. 19-563 and opening brief in No. 19-422, limited to 20,000 words, by Wednesday, September 16, 2020. That brief shall bear a light red cover. The Court-appointed amicus curiae shall file a brief, limited to 13,000 words, by Friday, October 16, 2020. That brief shall bear a dark green cover. Mnuchin, et al., shall file a consolidated reply and response brief, limited to 13,000 words, by Friday, October 23, 2020. Collins, et al., shall file a consolidated reply and response brief to brief of Court-appointed amicus curiae, limited to 6,000 words, by Monday, November 23, 2020. That brief shall bear a tan cover. The brief of any amicus curiae in support of Collins, et al., or in support of neither set of parties, shall be filed by Wednesday, September 23, 2020. Those briefs shall bear a light green cover. The brief of any amicus curiae in support of Mnuchin, et al., or in support of Court-appointed amicus curiae, shall be filed by Friday, October 30, 2020. Those briefs shall bear a dark green cover. VIDED. |
| 08/19/2020 | Blanket Consent filed by Mnuchin, Steven T., et al. VIDED. |
| 09/15/2020 | Blanket Consent filed by Petitioner, Patrick J. Collins, et al. |
| 09/16/2020 | SET FOR ARGUMENT on Wednesday, December 9, 2020. VIDED. |
| 09/16/2020 | Brief of Patrick J. Collins, et al. filed. VIDED. |
| 09/22/2020 | Brief amicus curiae of Timothy Howard filed. VIDED. |
| 09/23/2020 | Brief amicus curiae of New Civil Liberties Alliance filed. |
| 09/23/2020 | Brief amicus curiae of Pacific Legal Foundation filed. VIDED. |
| 09/23/2020 | Brief amici curiae of Institutional Investors in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac filed. VIDED. |
| 09/23/2020 | Brief amicus curiae of Thomas P. Vartanian filed. VIDED. |
| 09/23/2020 | Brief amici curiae of Scholars filed. VIDED. |
| 09/23/2020 | Brief amicus curiae of Americans for Prosperity Foundation filed. VIDED. |
| 09/23/2020 | Brief amici curiae of Bryndon Fisher, et al. in support of neither party filed.(in 19-563) |
| 10/08/2020 | Record requested from the U.S.C.A. 5th Circuit. |
| 10/14/2020 | Record received from the U.S.C.A. 5th Circuit is electronic and located on PACER. |
| 10/16/2020 | Brief of Court-appointed amicus curiae filed. VIDED |
| 10/23/2020 | Reply and Response Brief for the Federal Parties filed. VIDED. (Distributed) |
| 10/27/2020 | CIRCULATED |
| 10/30/2020 | Motion for enlargement of time for oral argument and for divided argument filed by the Acting Solicitor General. VIDED. |
| 10/30/2020 | Brief amicus curiae of Constitutional Accountability Center filed. VIDED (Distributed) |
| 10/30/2020 | Brief amicus curiae of Professor John Harrison filed. (Distributed) |
| 10/30/2020 | Brief amicus curiae of Jed H. Shugerman filed. VIDED. (Distributed) |
| 11/09/2020 | Motion of the Acting Solicitor General for enlargement of time for oral argument and for divided argument GRANTED, and the time is allotted as follows: 35 minutes for the Acting Solicitor General, 15 minutes for the Court-appointed amicus curiae, and 40 minutes for Patrick Collins, et al. VIDED. |
| 11/19/2020 | Reply of petitioners Patrick J. Collins, et al. filed. VIDED. (Distributed) |
| 12/09/2020 | Argued. For federal parties: Hashim M. Mooppan, Counselor to the Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. For Court-appointed amicus curiae: Aaron L. Nielson, Provo, Utah. For petitioners in 19-422 & respondents in 19-563: David H. Thompson, Washington, D. C. VIDED. |
| 03/18/2021 | Letter of the federal parties notifying the Court of amendments to the Preferred Stock Purchase Agreements between Treasury and FHFA on behalf of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac filed. VIDED. (Distributed) |
| 03/31/2021 | Letter in response of Patrick J. Collins, et al. filed. VIDED. (Distributed) |
| 06/23/2021 | Adjudged to be AFFIRMED IN PART, REVERSED IN PART, VACATED IN PART, and case REMANDED. Alito, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Roberts, C. J., and Thomas, Kavanaugh, and Barrett, JJ., joined in full; in which Kagan and Breyer, JJ., joined as to all but Part III–B; in which Gorsuch, J., joined as to all but Part III–C; and in which Sotomayor, J., joined as to Parts I, II, and III–C. Thomas, J., filed a concurring opinion. Gorsuch, J., filed an opinion concurring in part. Kagan, J., filed an opinion concurring in part and concurring in the judgment, in which Breyer and Sotomayor, JJ., joined as to Part II. Sotomayor, J., filed an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part, in which Breyer, J., joined. VIDED. |
| 07/26/2021 | JUDGMENT ISSUED. |