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Yellen v. Collins

Consolidated with:

Docket No. Op. Below Argument Opinion Vote Author Term
19-563 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

DateProceedings and Orders (key to color coding)
10/25/2019Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due November 29, 2019)
11/27/2019Brief of respondents Patrick J. Collins, et al. in opposition filed.
11/27/2019Brief amici curiae of Bryndon Fisher, Bruce Reid, & Erick Shipmon in support of neither party filed.
12/11/2019DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/10/2020.
12/11/2019Reply of petitioners Steven T. Mnuchin, Secretary of the Treasury, et al. filed. (Distributed)
06/29/2020DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 7/1/2020.
07/08/2020DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 7/8/2020.
07/09/2020Petition GRANTED. The petition for a writ of certiorari in No. 19-422 is granted. The cases are consolidated, and a total of one hour is allotted for oral argument. VIDED.
07/09/2020Because 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.”
08/17/2020Aaron 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.
08/18/2020Mnuchin, 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.
09/16/2020SET FOR ARGUMENT on Wednesday, December 9, 2020. VIDED.
10/08/2020Record requested from the U.S.C.A. 5th Circuit.
10/14/2020Record received from the U.S.C.A. 5th Circuit is electronic and located on PACER.
10/27/2020CIRCULATED
12/09/2020Argued. 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.
06/23/2021Adjudged 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.
07/26/2021JUDGMENT ISSUED.