A. Elliott Archer, et Ux. v. Arlene L. Warner
Decided March 31, 2003. Stephen Gerald Breyer delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 01-1418 · 538 U.S. 314 (2003) · Cited 155 times
Holding
A debt for money promised in a settlement agreement accompanied by the release of underlying tort claims can amount to a debt for money obtained by fraud, within the nondischargeability statute’s terms.
The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.
How the Justices voted
Decided 7–2.
Majority · 7
- Stephen Gerald Breyer · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Anthony McLeod Kennedy
- Antonin Scalia
- David Hackett Souter
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg
- Sandra Day O'Connor
- William Hubbs Rehnquist
Dissenting · 2
- Clarence Thomas · filed a dissenting opinion
- John Paul Stevens
“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.
Precedents cited
Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.
- Brown v. Felsen · 442 U.S. 127 (1979)
- Holmes v. Securities Investor Protection Corporation · 503 U.S. 258 (1992)
- Cohen v. De La Cruz · 523 U.S. 213 (1998)
- Grogan v. Garner · 498 U.S. 279 (1991)
- Butner v. United States · 440 U.S. 48 (1979)
- Montana v. United States · 440 U.S. 147 (1979)
- Field v. Mans · 516 U.S. 59 (1995)
- Arizona v. California · 530 U.S. 392 (2000)
- Exxon Co. v. Sofec, Inc. · 517 U.S. 830 (1996)
- Roberts v. Galen of Virginia, Inc. · 525 U.S. 249 (1999)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Husky International Electronics, Inc. v. Ritz · 578 U.S. 355 (2016)
- Herrera v. Wyoming · 587 U.S. 329 (2019)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
Explore from here
Stephen Gerald Breyer’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court
Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2003). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).