Butner v. United States et al.

Decided February 21, 1979. John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 77-1410 · 440 U.S. 48 (1979) · Cited 3,653 times

Holding

Apart from certain special provisions, the Bankruptcy Act generally leaves the determination of property rights in the assets of a bankrupt's estate to state law.

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 9–0.

“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.

• Bishop v. Wood · 426 U.S. 341 (1976)
• Ogden v. Saunders · 25 U.S. 213 (1827)
• Bank of Columbia v. Okely · 17 U.S. 122 (1819)
• Stellwagen v. Clum · 245 U.S. 605 (1918)
• Lewis v. Manufacturers National Bank of Detroit · 364 U.S. 603 (1961)
• The Tungus v. Skovgaard · 358 U.S. 588 (1959)
• United New York & New Jersey Sandy Hook Pilots Ass'n v. Halecki · 358 U.S. 613 (1959)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Raleigh v. Illinois Department of Revenue · 530 U.S. 15 (2000)
• Nobelman v. American Savings Bank · 508 U.S. 324 (1993)
• Travelers Casualty & Surety Co. of America v. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. · 549 U.S. 443 (2007)
• Ritzen Group, Inc. v. Jackson Masonry, LLC · 589 U.S. 35 (2020)
• BFP v. Resolution Trust Corporation · 511 U.S. 531 (1994)
• Burks v. Lasker · 441 U.S. 471 (1979)
• Stern v. Marshall · 564 U.S. 462 (2011)
• United Sav. Assn. of Tex. v. Timbers of Inwood Forest Associates, Ltd. · 484 U.S. 365 (1988)
• Fidelity Federal Savings & Loan Ass'n v. De La Cuesta · 458 U.S. 141 (1982)
• Regents of the University of Michigan v. Ewing · 474 U.S. 214 (1985)
• Patterson v. Shumate · 504 U.S. 753 (1992)
• Leroy v. Great Western United Corp. · 443 U.S. 173 (1979)
• O'Melveny & Myers v. Federal Deposit Insurance · 512 U.S. 79 (1994)
• Commodity Futures Trading Commission v. Weintraub · 471 U.S. 343 (1985)
• Barnhill v. Johnson · 503 U.S. 393 (1992)
• Ohio v. Kovacs · 469 U.S. 274 (1985)
• Archer v. Warner · 538 U.S. 314 (2003)
• Morris v. Mathews · 475 U.S. 237 (1986)
• California State Board of Equalization v. Chemehuevi Indian Tribe · 474 U.S. 9 (1985)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1979). 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).