Chicago v. Fulton

Decided January 14, 2021. Samuel A. Alito Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 19-357 · 592 U.S. 154 (2021) · Cited 44 times

Holding

The mere retention of estate property after the filing of a bankruptcy petition does not violate 11 U. S. C. §362(a)(3), which operates as a “stay” of “any act” to “exercise control” over the property of the estate.

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 8–0.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. The lineup is the syllabus’s disposition of who wrote and joined each opinion. Source: the opinion’s syllabus (supremecourt.gov).

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.

• Marrama v. Citizens Bank of Mass. · 549 U.S. 365 (2007)
• United States v. Whiting Pools, Inc. · 462 U.S. 198 (1983)
• Grogan v. Garner · 498 U.S. 279 (1991)
• Nken v. Holder · 556 U.S. 418 (2009)
• United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
• Citizens Bank of Md. v. Strumpf · 516 U.S. 16 (1995)
• Bullard v. Blue Hills Bank · 575 U.S. 496 (2015)

Official text

Read the official opinion (PDF, supremecourt.gov)

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Samuel A. Alito Jr.’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2021). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-08-15. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).