By: Derek Hawkins//March 22, 2018//
United States Supreme Court
Case Name: U.S. Bank N.A., Trustee, et al. v. Village at Lakeridge, LLC
Case No.: 15-1509
Focus: Statutory Interpretation – Bankruptcy
The Bankruptcy Code places various restrictions on anyone who qualifies as an “insider” of a debtor. The statutory definition of that term lists a set of persons related to the debtor in particular ways. See 11 U. S. C. §101(31). Courts have additionally recognized as insiders some persons not on that list—commonly known as “nonstatutory insiders.” The conferral of that status often turns on whether the person’s transactions with the debtor (or another of its insiders) were at arm’s length. In this case, we address how an appellate court should review that kind of determination: de novo or for clear error? We hold that a clear-error standard should apply.
Affirmed
Dissenting:
Concurring: KENNEDY, J., filed a concurring opinion. SOTOMAYOR, J., filed a concurring opinion, in which KENNEDY, THOMAS, and GORSUCH, JJ., joined