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 pre-empts 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, pre-empts 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 |
|---|---|
| Aug 26 2015 | Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due September 30, 2015) |
| Sep 14 2015 | Order extending time to file response to petition to and including October 23, 2015, for all respondents. |
| Sep 30 2015 | Brief amicus curiae of Eduardo Bahatia, President of the Senate of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico filed. |
| Oct 23 2015 | Brief of respondent BlueMountain Capital Management, LLC in opposition filed. VIDED. |
| Oct 23 2015 | Brief of respondents Franklin California Tax-Free Trust, et al. in opposition filed. VIDED. |
| Nov 9 2015 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of November 24, 2015. |
| Nov 9 2015 | Reply of petitioners Melba Acosta-Febo, et al. filed. (Distributed) |
| Nov 30 2015 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of December 4, 2015. |
| Dec 4 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. |
| Jan 19 2016 | Joint appendix filed. (Two Volumes) VIDED. (Statement of costs filed) |
| Jan 19 2016 | Brief of petitioners Melba Acosta-Febo, et al. filed. VIDED. |
| Jan 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. |
| Jan 25 2016 | Brief amici curiae of Colegio de Abogados y Abogadas de Puerto Rico, et al. filed. VIDED. |
| Jan 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 |
| Jan 26 2016 | Brief amicus curiae of Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority filed. VIDED. |
| Jan 26 2016 | Brief amici curiae of Professors Clayton P. Gillette and David A. Skeel, Jr. filed. VIDED. |
| Jan 26 2016 | Brief amici curiae of LatinoJustice PRLDEF, et al. filed. VIDED. |
| Jan 26 2016 | Brief amici curiae of Puerto Rico Manufacturers Association filed. VIDED |
| Jan 29 2016 | SET FOR ARGUMENT ON Tuesday, March 22, 2016. VIDED |
| Feb 1 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. |
| Feb 8 2016 | Record requested from U.S.C.A. 1st Circuit. |
| Feb 10 2016 | CIRCULATED. |
| Feb 10 2016 | Record received from U.S.D.C. District of Puerto Rico is electronic and located on PACER. |
| Feb 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) |
| Feb 18 2016 | Brief of respondent BlueMountain Capital Management, LLC filed. VIDED. (Distributed) |
| Feb 18 2016 | Brief of respondents Franklin California Tax-Free Trust, et al. filed. VIDED. (Distributed) |
| Feb 25 2016 | Brief amicus curiae of Scotiabank de Puerto Rico, as Agent for Local Bank Lenders to PREPA filed. VIDED. (Distributed) |
| Feb 25 2016 | Brief amicus curiae of The Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America filed. VIDED. (Distributed) |
| Feb 25 2016 | Brief amicus curiae of The Association of Financial Guaranty Insurers filed. VIDED. (Distributed) |
| Mar 15 2016 | Reply of petitioners Melba Acosta-Febo, et al. filed. VIDED. (Distributed) |
| Mar 22 2016 | Argued. For petitioners: Christopher Landau, Washington, D. C. For respondents: Matthew D. McGill, Washington, D. C. VIDED |
| Jun 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 |
| Jul 15 2016 | JUDGMENT ISSUED |
