United States by and Through Internal Revenue Service v. Bruce J. McDermott et al.

Decided March 24, 1993. Antonin Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 91-1229 · 507 U.S. 447 (1993) · Cited 209 times

Holding

A federal tax lien filed before a delinquent taxpayer acquires real property must be given priority in that property over a private creditor’s previously filed judgment lien.

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 6–3.

“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.

• United States v. Vermont · 377 U.S. 351 (1964)
• United States v. City of New Britain · 347 U.S. 81 (1954)
• United States v. Pioneer American Insurance · 374 U.S. 84 (1963)
• United States v. Security Trust & Savings Bank · 340 U.S. 47 (1950)
• United States v. Snyder · 149 U.S. 210 (1893)
• Glass City Bank v. United States · 326 U.S. 265 (1945)
• Rankin v. Scott · 25 U.S. 177 (1827)

Official text

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

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Antonin Scalia’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1993). 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).