Unitherm Food Systems, Inc. v. Swift-Eckrich, Inc., Dba Conagra Refrigerated Foods
Decided January 23, 2006. Clarence Thomas delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 04-597 · 546 U.S. 394 (2006) · Cited 513 times
Holding
A bankruptcy trustee’s proceeding to set aside the debtor’s preferential transfers to state agencies is not barred by sovereign immunity.
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
- Clarence Thomas · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Antonin Scalia
- David Hackett Souter
- John Glover Roberts Jr.
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg
- Sandra Day O'Connor
- Stephen Gerald Breyer
Dissenting · 2
- Anthony McLeod Kennedy
- John Paul Stevens · filed a dissenting opinion
“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.
- Johnson v. New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad · 344 U.S. 48 (1952)
- Cone v. West Virginia Pulp & Paper Co. · 330 U.S. 212 (1947)
- Neely v. Martin K. Eby Construction Co., Inc. · 386 U.S. 317 (1967)
- Singleton v. Wulff · 428 U.S. 106 (1976)
- Weisgram v. Marley Co. · 528 U.S. 440 (2000)
- Baltimore & Carolina Line, Inc. v. Redman · 295 U.S. 654 (1935)
- Yakus v. United States · 321 U.S. 414 (1944)
- Harper v. Virginia Department of Taxation · 509 U.S. 86 (1993)
- Walker Process Equipment, Inc. v. Food MacHinery & Chemical Corp. · 382 U.S. 172 (1965)
- Slocum v. New York Life Insurance · 228 U.S. 364 (1913)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Greenlaw v. United States · 554 U.S. 237 (2008)
- Ortiz v. Jordan · 562 U.S. 180 (2011)
- Dupree v. Younger · 598 U.S. 729 (2023)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2006). 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).