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2025 term · Roberts Court · 9-0

Keathley v. Buddy Ayers Construction, Inc.

608 U.S. 647

The record

Term
2025
Decided
Issue area
—
Vote split
9-0
Winning party
—
Decision direction
—
Chief Justice
Roberts Court
Disposition
—
Docket
25-6
U.S. Reports
608 U.S. 647
S. Ct. citation
—
LEXIS citation
—

Holding

To determine whether an omission of a claim in the bankruptcy context was inadvertent or mistaken for purposes of the judicial estoppel doctrine, courts should look to the totality of the circumstances surrounding the omission; the Fifth Circuit erred in narrowing its inquiry in this case to whether the debtor had knowledge of the underlying facts or a potential motive to conceal the claim.

Syllabus summary as published on the Supreme Court’s opinions list.

How the bench divided

M 7 majorityC 2 concurring

How each justice voted in Keathley v. Buddy Ayers Construction, Inc.
JusticeVote
Ketanji Brown JacksonMajority
John G. RobertsMajority
Samuel AlitoMajority
Elena KaganMajority
Neil GorsuchMajority
Brett KavanaughMajority
Amy Coney BarrettMajority
Clarence ThomasRegular concurrence
Sonia SotomayorRegular concurrence