Opinion · Supreme Court of the United States

United States v. Nordic Village, Inc.

503 U.S. 30

Type
Opinion
Court
Supreme Court of the United States
Jurisdiction
Federal
Date
1992-02-25
Topic
general

How later courts describe this case

  • holding that courts must strictly construe statutory waivers of sovereign immunity by not extending such waivers “beyond what the language requires.”
  • holding that although the contemporary § 106(c) of the Bankruptcy Code waived sovereign immunity, ‘it fail[ed] to establish unambiguously that the waiver extended] to monetary claims’
  • holding that the reorganization court had jurisdiction over the tax claims where the State waived immunity by filing a proof of claim against the estate
  • holding that although the contemporary § 106(c) of the Bankruptcy Code waived sovereign immunity, "it fail[ed] to establish unambiguously that the waiver extend[ed] to monetary claims"
  • holding that sovereign immunity barred claim against the government even though the issue was raised for the first time on appeal
  • holding that "a statute must, if possible, be construed in such fashion that every word has some operative effect”
  • holding that the existence of “plausible” interpretations that would not permit recovery “is enough to establish that a reading imposing monetary liability on the Government is not ‘unambiguous’ and therefore should not be adopted”
  • holding that statute did not plainly indicate intent to waive sovereign immunity from monetary claims when it was "susceptible of at least two interpretations that do not authorize monetary relief"

Citator

United States v. Nordic Village, Inc. has been questioned or limited by later authorities: relies on overruled authority: 106 L. Ed. 2d 76 (overruled by Central Virginia Community College v. Katz, 546 U.S. 356 (2006)). Read them before relying on it. 1,681 later decisions cite it.

Authority status
caution
Cited by
1681 opinions

Headnotes

  1. Bankruptcy Law — Sovereign Immunity — Statutory Waiver A waiver of the United States' sovereign immunity is effective only if unequivocally expressed in statutory text; such waivers are not liberally construed but are to be construed strictly in favor of the sovereign and not enlarged beyond what the statutory language requires. 503 U.S. at 33–34
  2. Bankruptcy Law — Sovereign Immunity — Section 106(c) Section 106(c) of the Bankruptcy Code does not unequivocally express a waiver of the Government's sovereign immunity from actions seeking monetary recovery, because it is susceptible of at least two plausible interpretations that do not authorize monetary relief against governmental units. 503 U.S. at 33–37
  3. Bankruptcy Law — Sovereign Immunity — Monetary Relief Where a statute waiving sovereign immunity does not unambiguously extend the waiver to monetary claims, a reading imposing monetary liability on the Government should not be adopted. 503 U.S. at 37
  4. Statutory Interpretation — Legislative History The unequivocal expression of a waiver of sovereign immunity must appear in the statutory text; if clarity does not exist there, it cannot be supplied by legislative history or committee reports. 503 U.S. at 37
  5. Bankruptcy Law — Jurisdiction A broad statutory grant of bankruptcy jurisdiction does not abrogate sovereign immunity; the fact that Congress grants jurisdiction to hear a claim does not suffice to show that Congress has abrogated all defenses to that claim, as the two issues are wholly distinct. 503 U.S. at 37–38
  6. Bankruptcy Law — Jurisdiction A bankruptcy court's in rem jurisdiction does not override sovereign immunity so as to permit monetary recovery from the Government, particularly where the trustee seeks a sum of money rather than specific property, leaving no res to which in rem jurisdiction could attach. 503 U.S. at 38
  7. Bankruptcy Law — Turnover of Property — Sovereign Immunity An order requiring the Government to turn over tangible property of the debtor that it seized before bankruptcy is distinct from a suit for payment of funds from the Treasury; the former may be proper, but nothing permits an order granting monetary recovery from the United States. 503 U.S. at 38–39
  8. Bankruptcy Law — Trust Law — Sovereign Immunity Principles of trust law do not supply a waiver of the Government's sovereign immunity in bankruptcy, and the doctrine of equitable recoupment — substantially narrowed by later cases — has no application to a bankruptcy trustee's claim for monetary relief. 503 U.S. at 39
UNITED STATES v. NORDIC VILLAGE, INC.,503 U.S. 30(1992)
112 S.Ct. 1011
UNITED STATESv. NORDIC VILLAGE, INC.
No. 90-1629
Argued December 9, 1991
Decided February 25, 1992
After respondent Nordic Village, Inc., filed a petition for relief underChapter 11of the Bankruptcy Code, one of its officers withdrew funds from the company's corporate account. He sent part of the money to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), directing it to apply the funds against his individual tax liability, which it did. In a subsequent adversary proceeding, the Bankruptcy Court permitted Nordic Village's trustee to recover the transfer and entered a monetary judgment against the IRS. The District Court affirmed, as did the Court of Appeals, which rejected a jurisdictional defense that sovereign immunity barred the judgment.Held:
1. Section 106(c) of the Code does not waive the United States' sovereign immunity from an action seeking monetary recovery in bankruptcy. Pp. 32-37.
(a)Hoffman v. Connecticut Dept. of Income Maintenance,492 U.S. 96, does not control this case, since the plurality and the dissent therein were evenly divided over the issue whether § 106(c) authorizes a monetary recovery against a State, and since the deciding vote of the concurrence, denying amenability to suit, rested upon theEleventh Amendment, which is applicable only to the States. However, the plurality's reasoning is relevant, and is relied on here. Pp. 32-33.
(b) Section 106(c) does not "unequivocally express" a waiver of the Government's immunity from actions for monetary relief, as is necessary for such a waiver to be effective.See, e.g., Irwin v. Department ofVeterans Affairs,498 U.S. 89,95. In contrast to § 106(a) and (b), which plainly waive immunity with regard to monetary relief as to specified claims, § 106(c) is susceptible of at least two plausible interpretations that do not authorize monetary relief. Legislative history has no bearing on this point, for the "unequivocal expression" of waiver must be an expression in statutory text.Hoffman, supra, at 104. Pp. 33-37.
2. Respondent's several alternative grounds for affirming the judgment below — that28 U.S.C. § 1334(d)'s broad jurisdictional grant provides the necessary waiver, that a bankruptcy court'sin remjurisdiction overrides sovereign immunity, and that a waiver of sovereign immunity is supported by trust law principles — are unpersuasive. Pp. 37-39.
915 F.2d 1049(CA6 1990), reversed.Page 31

SCALIA, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which REHNQUIST, C.J., and WHITE, O'CONNOR, KENNEDY, SOUTER, and THOMAS, JJ., joined. STEVENS, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which BLACKMUN, J., joined, post, p. 39.
Richard H. Seamonargued the cause for the United States. With him on the briefs wereSolicitor GeneralStarr, Assistant Attorney General Peterson, Deputy SolicitorGeneral Roberts, Gary D. Gray, andJohn A. Dudeck, Jr.Marvin A. Sichermanargued the cause and filed a brief for respondent. With him on the brief wasMichael D.Zaverton.
JUSTICE SCALIA delivered the opinion of the Court.
This case presents a narrow question: does §106(c) of the Bankruptcy Code waive the sovereign immunity of the United States from an action seeking monetary recovery in bankruptcy?
I
Respondent Nordic Village, Inc. filed a petition for relief underChapter 11of the Bankruptcy Code in March, 1984. About four months later, Josef Lah, an officer and shareholder of Nordic Village, drew a $26,000 check on the company's corporate account, $20,000 of which was used to obtain a cashier's check in that amount payable to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Lah delivered this check to the IRS and directed it to apply the funds against his individual tax liability, which it did.

In December, 1984, the trustee appointed for Nordic Village commenced an adversary proceeding in the Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Ohio, seeking to recover, among other transfers, the $20,000 paid by Lah to the IRS. The Bankruptcy Court permitted the recovery. The unauthorized, postpetition transfer, the court determined, could be avoided under § 549(a) and recovered from the IRS under §550(a) of the Bankruptcy Code. It entered a judgment against the IRS in the amount of $20,000, which the district court affirmed.Page 32

A divided panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed.915 F.2d 1049(1990). It upheld the reasoning of the lower courts and rejected a jurisdictional defense (raised for the first time on appeal) that sovereign immunity barred the judgment entered against the Government. We granted certiorari.501 U.S. 1216(1991).
II
Section106of the Bankruptcy Code provides:
"(a) A governmental unit is deemed to have waived sovereign immunity with respect to any claim against such governmental unit that is property of the estate and that arose out of the same transaction or occurrence out of which such governmental unit's claim arose.
"(b) There shall be offset against an allowed claim or interest of a governmental unit any claim against such governmental unit that is property of the estate.
"(c) Except as provided in subsections (a) and (b) of this section and notwithstanding any assertion of sovereign immunity —
"(1) a provision of this title that contains "creditor," "entity," or "governmental unit" applies to governmental units; and
"(2) a determination by the court of an issue arising under such a provision binds governmental units.11 U.S.C. § 106.


Three Terms ago, we construed this provision inHoffman v. ConnecticutDept. of Income Maintenance,492 U.S. 96(1989). The issue there was whether § 106(c) authorizes a monetary recovery against a State. We held that it does not, though the Justices supporting that judgment to agree as to why. A plurality of the Court determined that § 106(c) does not permit a bankruptcy court to issue monetary reliefPage 33against a State.Id., at 102 (WHITE, J., joined by REHNQUIST, C.J., and O'CONNOR and KENNEDY, JJ.). That conclusion, the plurality said, was compelled by the language of § 106(c), the relationship between that subsection and the rest of the statute, and the requirement that congressional abrogation of the States'Eleventh Amendmentimmunity be clearly expressed. The concurrence found it unnecessary to construe the statute, concluding that Congress lacks authority under the Bankruptcy Clause to abrogate the States' immunity from money damages actions.Id., at 105 (SCALIA, J., concurring in judgment). Like the Court of Appeals here, the dissent determined that the language of § 106(c), particularly that of paragraph (c)(1), supplies the necessary waiver.Id., at 106 (Marshall, J., joined by Brennan, BLACKMUN, and STEVENS, JJ.).

Contrary to the Government's suggestion,Hoffmandoes not control today's decision. It is true, to be sure, that Congress made clear in § 106 that (insofar as is within Congress's power) State and Federal Sovereigns are to be treated the same for immunity purposes. See11 U.S.C. § 101(27) (1982 ed., Supp. II) ("`governmental unit' means United States [and] State"). Since, however, the Court inHoffmanwas evenly divided over what that treatment was as to the States; and since the deciding vote of the concurrence, denying amenability to suit, rested upon a ground (theEleventh Amendment) applicable only to the States, and not to the Federal Government,see FHA v. Burr,309 U.S. 242,244(1940); the holding inHoffmanhas no binding force here. The separate opinions dealing with the statutory question are relevant, however, and we shall in fact rely on the reasoning of the plurality.
III
Waivers of the Government's sovereign immunity, to be effective, must be "`"unequivocally expressed."'"Irwin v. Department of VeteransPage 34Affairs,498 U.S. 89,95(1990) (quotingUnited States v. Mitchell,445 U.S. 535,538(1980), andUnited States v. King,395 U.S. 1,4(1969)). Contrary to respondent's suggestion, moreover, they are not generally to be "liberally construed." We have on occasion narrowly construed exceptions to waivers of sovereign immunity where that was consistent with Congress's clear intent, as in the context of the "sweeping language" of the Federal Tort Claims Act,United States v.Yellow Cab Co.,340 U.S. 543,547,see, e.g., id., at 554-555,Block v.Neal,460 U.S. 289,298(1983),United States v. Aetna CasualtySurety Co.,338 U.S. 366,383(1949), or as in the context of equally broad "sue and be sued" clauses,see, e.g.,Franchise Tax Board ofCalifornia v. United States Postal Service,467 U.S. 512,517-519(1984),FHA v. Burr, supra, 245. These cases do not, however, eradicate the traditional principle that the Government's consent to be sued "must be "construed strictly in favor of the sovereign,"McMahon v.United States,342 U.S. 25,27(1951), and not "enlarge[d] . . . beyond what the language requires,'"Ruckelshaus v. Sierra Club,463 U.S. 680,685(1983) (quotingEastern Transp. Co. v. United States,272 U.S. 675,686(1927)), a rule of construction that we have had occasion to reaffirm once already this Term,see Ardestani v. INS,502 U.S. 129,137(1991).

Subsections (a) and (b) of § 106 meet this "unequivocal expression" requirement with respect to monetary liability. Addressing "claim[s]," which the Code defines as "right[s] to payment,"11 U.S.C. § 101(4)(A), they plainly waive sovereign immunity with regard to monetary relief in two settings: compulsory counterclaims to governmental claims,11 U.S.C. § 106(a); permissive counterclaims to governmental claims capped by a setoff limitation,11 U.S.C. § 106(b). Next to these models of clarity stands subsection (c). Though it, too, waives sovereign immunity, it fails to establish unambiguously that the waiver extends to monetary claims. It is susceptible of at least two interpretations that donotauthorize monetary relief.Page 35

Under one interpretation, § 106(c) permits the bankruptcy court to issue "declaratory and injunctive" — though not monetary — relief against the Government.Hoffman,492 U.S., at 102. This conclusion is reached by reading the two paragraphs of subsection (c) as complementary, rather than independent: the first paragraph identifies the subject matter of disputes that courts may entertain under the subsection, and the second paragraph describes the relief that courts may grant in such disputes. That is to say, the second paragraph specifies themannerin which there shall be applied to governmental units the provisions identified by the first paragraph,i.e., a manner that permits declaratory or injunctive relief, but not an affirmative monetary recovery.

Several factors favor this construction. The distinction it establishes — between suits for monetary claims and suits for other relief — is a familiar one, and is suggested by the contrasting language used in subsections (a) and (b) ("claim[s]") and in subsection (c) ("determination[s]" of "issue[s]"),Hoffman,492 U.S., at 102. It also avoids eclipsing the carefully drawn limitations placed on the waivers in subsections (a) and (b). The principal provision of the Code permitting the assertion of claims against persons other than the estate itself is § 542(b), which provides that "an entity that owes a debt that is property of the estate and that is matured, payable on demand, or payable on order, shall pay such debt to, or on the order of, the trustee."11 U.S.C. § 542(b). If the first paragraph of § 106(c) means that, by reason of use of the trigger word "entity," this provision appliesin all respectsto governmental units, then the Government may be sued on all alleged debts, despite the prior specification in subsections (a) and (b) that claims against the Government will lie only when the Government has filed a proof of claim, and even then only as a setoff unless the claim is a compulsory counterclaim. Those earlier limitations are reduced to trivial application if paragraph (c)(1) stands on its own. Seeid., 101-102. This construction also attaches practical consequences to paragraph (c)(2),Page 36whereas respondent's interpretation violates the settled rule that a statute must, if possible, be construed in such fashion that every word has some operative effect. Seeid., at 103;United Statesv. Menasche,348 U.S. 528,538-539(1955). Respondent has suggested no function to be performed by paragraph (2) if paragraph (1) operates to treat the Government like any other "entity" or "creditor," regardless of the type of relief authorized by an applicable Code provision.

Under this interpretation, § 106(c), though not authorizing claims for monetary relief, would nevertheless perform a significant function. It would permit a bankruptcy court to determine the amount and dischargeability of an estate's liability to the Government, such as unpaid federal taxes, see11 U.S.C. § 505(a)(1) (permitting the court to "determinethe amount or legality of any tax") (emphasis added), whether or not the Government filed a proof of claim. See492 U.S., at 102-103.Cf. Neavear v. Schweiker,674 F.2d 1201,1203-1204(CA7 1982) (holding that, under § 106(c), a bankruptcy court could discharge a debt owed to the Social Security Administration). The Government had repeatedly objected, on grounds of sovereign immunity, to being bound by such determinations before § 106(c) was enacted in 1978.See, e.g.,McKenzie v. United States,536 F.2d 726,728-729(CA7 1976);Bostwickv. United States,521 F.2d 741,742-744(CA8 1975);Gwilliam v. UnitedStates,519 F.2d 407,410(CA9 1975);In re Durensky,377 F. Supp. 798,799-800(ND Tex. 1974),appeal dism'd,519 F.2d 1024(CA5 1975).

Subsection (c) is also susceptible of another construction that would not permit recovery here. If the two paragraphs of § 106(c) are read as being independent, rather than the second as limiting the first, then, pursuant to the first paragraph, Code provisions using the triggering words enumerated in paragraph (c)(1) would apply fully to governmental units. But that application of those provisions would be limited by the requirements of subsections (a) and (b), in accordancePage 37with the phrase that introduces subsection (c) ("Except as provided in subsections (a) and (b) of this section"). This exception, in other words, could be read to mean that the rules established in subsections (a) and (b) for waiver of Government "claim[s]" that are "property of the estate" are exclusive, and preclude any resort to subsection (c) for that purpose. That reading would bar the present suit, since the right to recover a postpetition transfer under § 550 is clearly a "claim" (defined in § 101(4)(A)) and is "property of the estate" (defined in § 541(a)(3)). (The dissent appears to read paragraphs (c)(1) and (c)(2) as being independent, but provides no explanation of what the textual exception could mean under that reading.)

The foregoing are assuredly not the only readings of subsection (c), but they are plausible ones — which is enough to establish that a reading imposing monetary liability on the Government is not "unambiguous," and therefore should not be adopted. Contrary to respondent's suggestion, legislative history has no bearing on the ambiguity point. As in theEleventh Amendmentcontext, seeHoffman,supraat 104, the "unequivocal expression" of elimination of sovereign immunity that we insist upon is an expression in statutory text. If clarity does not exist there, it cannot be supplied by a committee report. Cf.Dellmuth v. Muth,491 U.S. 223,228-229(1989).
IV
Respondent proposes several alternative grounds for affirming the judgment below, all unpersuasive. First, it claims that the necessary waiver can be found in28 U.S.C. § 1334(d), which grants the district court in which a bankruptcy case is initiated "exclusive jurisdiction of all of the property, wherever located, of the debtor as of the commencement of such case, and of property of the estate." Respondent urges us to construe this language as empowering a bankruptcy court to compel the United States or a State to return any property, including money, that passes into the estate uponPage 38commencement of the bankruptcy proceeding. Under this theory, a sovereign's exposure to suit would not be governed by the specific language of § 106, but would be concealed in the broad jurisdictional grant of § 1334(d). Besides being unprecedented and running afoul of the unequivocal-expression requirement, this theory closely resembles an argument we rejected just last Term. InBlatchford v. NativeVillage of Noatak,501 U.S. 775,786(1991), the argument was made that Alaska'sEleventh Amendmentimmunity to suit was abrogated by28 U.S.C. § 1362, a jurisdictional grant, akin to § 1334(d), that gives district courts jurisdiction over "all civil actions, brought by any Indian tribe . . . aris[ing] under the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States." Rejecting that contention, we observed: "The fact that Congress grantsjurisdictionto hear a claim does not suffice to show Congress has abrogated alldefensesto that claim. The issues are wholly distinct. "Id., at 787, n. 4.

Equally unpersuasive is respondent's related argument that a bankruptcy court'sin remjurisdiction overrides sovereign immunity. As an initial matter, the premise for that argument is missing here, since respondent did not invoke, and the bankruptcy court did not purport to exercise,in remjurisdiction. Respondent sought to recover a sum of money, not "particular dollars,"cf.Begier v. IRS,496 U.S. 53,62(1990) (emphasis deleted), so there was noresto which the court'sinremjurisdiction could have attached,see Pennsylvania Turnpike Comm'nv. McGinnes,268 F.2d 65,66-67(CA3),cert. denied,361 U.S. 829(1959). In any event, we have never applied anin remexception to the sovereign immunity bar against monetary recovery, and have suggested no such exception exists,see United States v. Shaw,309 U.S. 495,502-503(1940). Nor doesUnited States v. Whiting Pools, Inc.,462 U.S. 198(1983), establish such an exception, or otherwise permit the relief requested here. That case upheld a bankruptcy court order thatPage 39the IRS turn over tangible property of the debtor it had seized before the debtor filed for bankruptcy protection. A suit for payment of funds from the Treasury is quite different from a suit for the return of tangible property in which the debtor retained ownership. The Court's opinion inWhiting Poolscontains no discussion of § 106(c), and nothing in it suggests that an order granting monetary recovery from the United States would be proper.

Resort to the principles of trust law is also of no help to respondent. Most of the trust decisions respondent cites are irrelevant, since they involve private entities, not the Government. The one that does involve the Government,Bull v. United States,295 U.S. 247(1935), concerns equitable recoupment, a doctrine that has been substantially narrowed by later cases, seeUnited States v. Dalm,494 U.S. 596,608(1990), and has no application here.

* * *

Neither § 106(c) nor any other provision of law establishes an unequivocal textual waiver of the Government's immunity from a bankruptcy trustee's claims for monetary relief. Since Congress has not empowered a bankruptcy court to order a recovery of money from the United States, the judgment of the Court of Appeals must be reversed.It is so ordered.
JUSTICE STEVENS, with whom JUSTICE BLACKMUN joins, dissenting.
The injustice that the Court condones today demonstrates that it is time to reexamine the wisdom of the judge-made rules that drive its decision.

An officer of an insolvent corporation appropriated corporate funds and used them to discharge a personal tax obligation. Because the Federal Government was the ultimate recipient of the stolen property, the CourtPage 40holds that the bankruptcy trustee cannot avoid the transfer. The interest in a rigid interpretation of the doctrine of sovereign immunity outweighs the interest in equitable treatment of general creditors and shareholders of the corporate debtor. This result is neither necessary nor just.

It is not necessary because both the text and the legislative history of the Bankruptcy Code support a contrary result. It is not just because nothing more than a misguided interest in adherence to obsolete judge-made rules is at stake. I shall comment first on the laws enacted by Congress, and then on the rules that the Court itself has ordained.
I
The text of § 106 is straightforward. Because the case does not involve either a counterclaim or an offset, subsections (a) and (b) are not applicable. Subsection (c) provides:
"(c) Except as provided in subsections (a) and (b) of this section and notwithstanding any assertion of sovereign immunity —
"(1) a provision of this title that contains `creditor,' `entity,' or `governmental unit' applies to governmental units; and
"(2) a determination by the court of an issue arising under such a provision binds governmental units."11 U.S.C. § 106(c).


The United States is a "governmental unit,"1and therefore any provision of the Bankruptcy Code that contains one of the "trigger words" listed in subparagraph (c)(1) applies to the United States. Section 550(a)Page 41is undoubtedly one such provision.2Thus, "notwithstanding any assertion of sovereign immunity," subparagraph (c)(1) provides that § 550(a) "applies" to the United States, and subparagraph (c)(2) provides that the Government is bound by the court's determination of the issues arising under that provision. The literal text of the Act unquestionably forecloses the defense of sovereign immunity.

The legislative history unambiguously demonstrates that Congress intended the statute to be read literally. The immediate purpose of § 106(c) was to enable the bankruptcy court to determine the amount and the dischargeability of the debtor's tax liabilities, but the sponsors of the amendment clearly stated that it covered "other matters as well," specifically including the avoidance of preferential transfers.124 Cong.Rec. 32394(1978) (statement of Rep. Edwards);id., at 33993 (statement of Sen. DeConcini).3The congressional purpose to waive sovereign immunity is pellucidly clear.

The Court evades this conclusion by hypothesizing "plausible" alternative constructions of the statute,4by refusing to consider its legislative history,5and by reiterating the Court's view thatPage 42waivers of sovereign immunity must be strictly construed.6I shall not comment on the plausible alternatives except to note that they are obviously less satisfactory — both as a matter of sound bankruptcy policy and as a principled interpretation of the English language — than a literal reading of the statute. I shall, however, add a few words about the Court's love affair with the doctrine of sovereign immunity.
II
Despite its ancient lineage, the doctrine of sovereign immunity is nothing but a judge-made rule that is sometimes favored7and sometimes disfavored.8Its original reliance on the notion that a divinely ordained monarch "can do no wrong"9is, of course, thoroughly discredited.10Moreover, its persistent threat to thePage 43impartial administration of justice has been repeatedly acknowledged and recognized.11Thus, inFHA v. Burr,309 U.S. 242,245, we remarked on "the current disfavor of the doctrine of governmental immunity from suit."12

Time after time, Congress has taken action to ameliorate the hardship of the doctrine. A half century ago, this Court observed:
A sense of justice has brought a progressive relaxation by legislative enactments of the rigor of the immunity rule. As representative governments attempt to ameliorate inequalities as necessities permit, prerogatives of the government yield to the needs of the citizen. . . . When authority is given, it is liberally construed."United States v. Shaw,309 U.S. 495,501(1940).


In the bankruptcy context, the Court has noted that there is no reason why the Federal Government should be treated differently than any otherPage 44secured creditor.13Its interests are adequately protected by specific statutory provisions governing discharges and priorities. As the Commission on the Bankruptcy Laws of the United States observed, unanimously, in 1973:
"The Commission also recommends that unpaid taxes entitled to priority be reduced from those accruing within three years prior to bankruptcy to those accruing within one year prior to bankruptcy, and that the government be given no other priority for taxes in a bankruptcy proceeding (including those secured by a "tax lien"). Data submitted to the Commission by the Treasury Department establishes that the total amount collected by the Federal Government as a result of all of its liens and priorities in bankruptcy proceedings is insignificant in the total federal budget. It is the view of the Commission that it is unseemly for the Federal Government to insist upon collecting its taxes at the expense of other creditors of the taxpayer, and that the onlyPage 45possible justification for this would be a plea of necessity in order to keep the government functioning. As indicated above, such a plea would be totally without foundation in fact.
". . . When the Federal Government enters into business transactions, it should be prepared to deal upon a basis of equality with other creditors of the bankrupt business." Report of Commission on Bankruptcy Laws of the United States, H.R.Doc. No. 93-137, pt. 1, p. 22 (1973).


If these comments by the experts who played a major role in formulating the policies embodied in the Bankruptcy Code are sound — as I believe they are — one must ask what valid reason supports a construction of the waiver in § 106(c) that is so "strict" that the Court will not even examine its legislative history.

Surely the interest in requiring the Congress to draft its legislation with greater clarity or precision does not justify a refusal to make a good faith effort to ascertain the actual meaning of the message it tried to convey in a statutory provision that is already on the books. The Court's stubborn insistence on "clear statements" burdens the Congress with unnecessary reenactment of provisions that were already plain enough when read literally.14The cost to litigants, toPage 46the legislature, and to the public at large, of this sort of judicial lawmaking is substantial and unfortunate. Its impact on individual citizens engaged in litigation against the sovereign is tragic.

The fact that Congress has ample power to correct the Court's unfortunate error does not justify this refusal to obey its command. I respectfully dissent.Page 47
  1. Page 40 Section 101(27) defines the term "governmental unit" to include the "United States [and any] department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States."11 U.S.C. § 101(27) (1988 ed., Supp. II). ↩
  2. Page 41 Section 550(a) provides:

    "(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, to the extent that a transfer is avoided under section 544, 545, 547, 548, 549, 553(b), or 724(a) of this title, the trustee may recover, for the benefit of the estate, the property transferred, or, if the court so orders, the value of such property, from —

    "(1) the initial transferee of such transfer or the entity for whose benefit such transfer was made; or

    "(2) any immediate or mediate transferee of such initial transferee. ↩
  3. Page 41See alsothe material summarized and quoted in my dissenting opinion inHoffman v. Connecticut Dept. of Income Maintenance,492 U.S. 96,111-114(1989). Particularly note the sponsors' comment that "`§ 106(c) permits a trustee or debtor in possession to assert avoiding powers under Title 11 against a governmental unit,'"id., at 112, and the comment that, as a result of § 106(c), "`the government is subject to avoidance of preferential transfers,'"id., at 113. ↩
  4. Page 41Ante, at 34-37. ↩
  5. Page 41Ante, at 37. ↩
  6. Page 42Ante, at 34. ↩
  7. Page 42See, e.g,Library of Congress v. Shaw,478 U.S. 310,318(1986) ("`The consent necessary to waive the traditional immunity must be express, and it must be strictly construed'") (quotingUnited States v.N.Y. Rayon Importing Co.,329 U.S. 654,659(1947));Ruckelshaus v.Sierra Club,463 U.S. 680,685(1983) ("Waivers of immunity must be `construed strictly in favor of the sovereign,' . . . and not `enlarge[d] . . . beyond what the language requires'");United Statesv. Sherwood,312 U.S. 584,590(1941) (Because "a relinquishment of a sovereign immunity . . . must be strictly interpreted," we construe the statutory language with "conservatism"). ↩
  8. Page 42See, e.g.,Bock v. Neal,460 U.S. 289,298(1983) ("`The exemption of the sovereign from suit involves hardship enough where consent has been withheld. We are not to add to its rigor by refinement of construction where consent has been announced'") (quotingAnderson v.Hayes Constr. Co.,243 N.Y. 140,147,153 N.E. 28,2930(1926) (Cardozo, J.));Indian Towing Co. v. United States,350 U.S. 61,69(1955) (Frankfurter, J.) (Court should not be "a self-constituted guardian of the Treasury [and] import immunity back into a statute designed to limit it");Canadian Aviator, Ltd. v. United States,324 U.S. 215,222(1945) (Court should not thwart the "broad statutory language authorizing suit" against the United States with "an unduly restrictive interpretation"). ↩
  9. Page 42 See 1 W. Blackstone, Commentaries *246. ↩
  10. Page 42See, e.g.,Nevada v. Hall,440 U.S. 410,415(1979) (the fiction that the king could do no wrong "was rejected by the colonists whenPage 43they declared their independence from the Crown");Langford v. UnitedStates,101 U.S. 341(1880) ("We do not understand that . . . the English maxim [that the king can do no wrong] has an existence in this country"). ↩
  11. Page 43See, e. g., Davis, Sovereign Immunity Must Go, 22 Admin. L . Rev. 383, 383-384, 389-393 (1969); Pugh, Historical Approach to the Doctrine of Sovereign Immunity, 13 La. L. Rev. 476, 476, 492 (1953), Borchard, Government Liability in Tort, 34 Yale L.J. 1, 1-2, 31, 33 (1924). ↩
  12. Page 43 Many legal scholars have been similarly critical of the doctrine.See, e.g., Comment, Sovereign Immunity — An Anathema to the "Constitutional Tort," 12 Santa Clara Law. 543, 553, and n. 60 (1972) (collecting authorities); Cramton, Nonstatutory Review of Federal Administrative Action: The Need for Statutory Reform of Sovereign Immunity, Subject Matter Jurisdiction, and Parties Defendant, 68 Mich. L. Rev. 387, 418-419 (1970); Davis,supra, n. 11; Pugh,supran. 11, at 494.

    Recognizing the lack of current justification for and the inequities caused by this judicially created doctrine, several state courts have abrogated or limited the immunity of state and local governments. See Note, Rethinking Sovereign Immunity afterBivens, 57 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 597, 603, and n. 26 (1982) (collecting cases). ↩
  13. Page 44 InUnited States v. Whiting Pools, Inc.,462 U.S. 198,209(1983), the Court first held that the reorganization estate includes property of the debtor that has been seized by a creditor prior to the filing of a petition for reorganization. The Court then explained:

    We see no reason why a different result should obtain when the IRS is the creditor. The Service is bound by § 542(a) to the same extent as any other secured creditor. The Bankruptcy Code expressly states that the term "entity," used in § 542(a), includes a governmental unit. § 101(14). See Tr. of Oral Arg. 16. Moreover, Congress carefully considered the effect of the new Bankruptcy Code on tax collection,see generallyS.Rep. No. 95-1106 (1978) (Report of Senate Finance Committee), and decided to provide protection to tax collectors, such as the IRS, through grants of enhanced priorities for unsecured tax claims, § 507(a)(6), and by the nondischarge of tax liabilities, § 523(a)(1). S.Rep. No. 95-989, pp. 14-15 (1978) U.S. Code Cong. Admin. News 1978 pp. 5787, 5800, 5801. Tax collectors also enjoy the generally applicable right under § 363(e) to adequate protection for property subject to their liens. Nothing in the Bankruptcy Code or its legislative history indicates that Congress intended a special exception for the tax collector in the form of an exclusion from the estate of property seized to satisfy a tax lien.Ibid. ↩
  14. Page 45 One scholar's comment on the countermajoritarian thrust of the Court's fascination with clear statement rules is illustrative:

    InDellmuth v. Muth, [491 U.S. 223(1989)] the Court held that the Education of the Handicapped Act (EHA) of 1975 did not abrogate state immunity. The Court reached this result even though the law imposed substantive obligations directly on the states, included the states in its jurisdictional grant, and included legislative discussion assuming that the states could be sued. After the Supreme Court changed the clear statement rule in 1985, Congress responded in 1986 with a broad textual abrogation of state immunity for statutes protecting the disabled. Yet inDellmuth, the Court held not only that the EHA did not meet the more stringent test for abrogation, but that the 1986 statute made clear Congress' "intent" not to abrogate state immunity inPage 46lawsuits filed before 1986. Congress overrodeDellmuthin 1990. That Congress had to pass the same statute three times to achieve its original goal is quite striking." Eskridge, Overriding Supreme Court Statutory Interpretation Decisions, 101 Yale L.J. 331, 409-410 (1991) (footnotes omitted). ↩