Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch has criticized a recent Supreme Court ruling as “trash,” in a case related to bankruptcy.
The case, known as Office of the United States Trustee v. John Q. Hammons Spring 2006, LLC, involved a law passed in 2017 that increased quarterly fees for large companies to support the U.S. Trustee.
One of the key issues was the discrepancy in fees paid by companies in different states, with North Carolina and Alabama exempt from the fee hike. The court ultimately deemed the fee increase as unconstitutional in 2022.
The court debated whether refunds were necessary to rectify the constitutional violation, with the majority opting for prospective changes rather than refunds. The dissenting opinion by Justice Gorsuch argued for refunds to address the past wrong.
Gorsuch criticized the majority’s stance, labeling the ruling as “remedial rubbish heap,” expressing concern over the lack of retroactive relief for constitutional violations.
He emphasized the importance of correcting errors before they extend beyond the realm of bankruptcy, urging lower courts to consider the unresolved arguments from the case.