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When Does Some Federal Interest Require A Different Result?: An Essay On The Use And Misuse Of Butner V. United States, Juliet Moringiello
When Does Some Federal Interest Require A Different Result?: An Essay On The Use And Misuse Of Butner V. United States, Juliet Moringiello
Juliet M Moringiello
Thousands of judges and scholars have relied on the statement in the 1979 Supreme Court opinion in Butner v. United States that “property interests are created and defined by state law...unless some federal interest requires a different result.” Often, they cite to the statement as a policy constraint that elevates state property law over federal bankruptcy law. This Essay, written for the American Bankruptcy Institute – University of Illinois Symposium on Chapter 11 Reform, posits that the Butner rule is not as broadly applicable as commonly believed. To do so, the Essay surveys some notable uses and misuses of the …