William Barnhill v. Elliot Johnson, Trustee (503 U.S. 393)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided March 25, 1992 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 503 U.S. 393 · 112 S. Ct. 1386
- Decided
- March 25, 1992
- Term
- October Term 1991
- Vote
- 7–2
- Majority author
- Justice Rehnquist
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
CHIEF Justice Rehnquist delivered the opinion of the Court. Under the Bankruptcy Code’s preference avoidance section, 11 U. S. C. §547, the trustee is permitted to recover, with certain exceptions, transfers of property made by the debtor within 90 days before the date the bankruptcy petition was filed. We granted certiorari to decide whether, in determining if a transfer occurred within the 90-day preference period, a transfer made by check should be deemed to occur on the date the check is presented to the recipient or on the date the drawee bank honors it. We hold that the latter date is determinative. The relevant facts in this case are not in dispute. The debtor made payment for a bona fide debt to petitioner Barnhill. The check was delivered to petitioner on November 18. The check was dated November 19, and the check was honored by the drawee bank on November 20. The debtor later filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition. It is agreed by the parties that the 90th day before the bankruptcy filing was November 20. Respondent Johnson was appointed trustee for the bankruptcy estate. He filed an adversary proceeding against petitioner, claiming that the check payment was recoverable by the estate pursuant to 11 U. S. C. § 547(b). That section generally permits the trustee to recover for benefit of the bankruptcy estate transfers of the debtor’s property made within 90 days of…
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