Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare et al. v. Davenport et Ux.

Decided May 29, 1990. Thurgood Marshall delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 89-156 · 495 U.S. 552 (1990) · Cited 854 times

Holding

The Code's language and structure demonstrate that restitution obligations constitute "debts" within the meaning of 101(11) and are therefore dischargeable under Chapter 13.

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.

“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.

• Kelly v. Robinson · 479 U.S. 36 (1986)
• Midlantic National Bank v. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection · 474 U.S. 494 (1986)
• United States v. Ron Pair Enterprises, Inc. · 489 U.S. 235 (1989)
• Younger v. Harris · 401 U.S. 37 (1971)
• Bearden v. Georgia · 461 U.S. 660 (1983)
• Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill · 437 U.S. 153 (1978)
• Griffin v. Oceanic Contractors, Inc. · 458 U.S. 564 (1982)
• MacKey v. Lanier Collection Agency & Service, Inc. · 486 U.S. 825 (1988)
• Landreth Timber Co. v. Landreth · 471 U.S. 681 (1985)
• United States v. Monia · 317 U.S. 424 (1943)
• United States v. Heirs of Boisdoré · 49 U.S. 113 (1849)

Cited by

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

• Johnson v. Home State Bank · 501 U.S. 78 (1991)
• Midland Funding, LLC v. Johnson · 581 U.S. 224 (2017)
• Cohen v. De La Cruz · 523 U.S. 213 (1998)
• Dewsnup v. Timm · 502 U.S. 410 (1992)
• Freytag v. Commissioner · 501 U.S. 868 (1991)
• Circuit City Stores, Inc. v. Adams · 532 U.S. 105 (2001)
• Hartford Underwriters Insurance v. Union Planters Bank, N. A. · 530 U.S. 1 (2000)
• Ratzlaf v. United States · 510 U.S. 135 (1994)
• Moskal v. United States · 498 U.S. 103 (1990)
• Travelers Casualty & Surety Co. of America v. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. · 549 U.S. 443 (2007)
• Chisom v. Roemer · 501 U.S. 380 (1991)
• Federal Communications Commission v. Nextwave Personal Communications Inc. · 537 U.S. 293 (2003)
• Shalala v. Whitecotton · 514 U.S. 268 (1995)
• Marinello v. United States · 584 U.S. 1 (2018)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1990). 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).