Argument of Speaker
Mr. Speaker: The opinion of the Court in No. 91-913, Patterson against Shumate will be announced by Justice Blackmun.
Argument of Justice Blackmun
Mr. Blackmun: This case comes to us from the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
The respondent, Shumate, was a participant in his employer's pension plan.
It contained the antialienation provision that is required for a plan's qualification under the 1974 statute we call ERISA.
The District Court rejected his contention that his interest in the plan should be excluded from his bankruptcy estate under a section of the Bankruptcy Code.
That provision excludes property that is subject to a restriction on transfer enforceable under "applicable non-bankruptcy law".
The Trial Court held that the latter phrase embraced only state law.
The Court of Appeals reversed and ruled that the interest should be excluded from the bankruptcy estate.
In an opinion filed with the Clerk today, we affirm that judgment by a unanimous vote.
The plain language of the Bankruptcy Code and ERISA establishes that an antialienation provision in a qualified pension plan constitutes a restriction on transfer enforceable under applicable non-bankruptcy law.
Justice Scalia, while joining the opinion of the Court, has filed a separate concurring statement.
