Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/19pdf/18-1334_8m58.pdf
Page Number: 1

(Slip Opinion) 

OCTOBER  TERM,  2019 

1 

Syllabus 

NOTE:  Where  it  is  feasible,  a  syllabus  (headnote)  will  be  released,  as  is 
being  done  in  connection  with  this  case,  at  the  time  the  opinion  is  issued. 
The  syllabus  constitutes  no  part  of  the  opinion  of  the  Court  but  has  been 
prepared  by  the  Reporter  of  Decisions  for  the  convenience  of  the  reader. 
See United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co., 200 U. S. 321, 337. 

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES 

Syllabus 

FINANCIAL OVERSIGHT AND MANAGEMENT BOARD 
FOR PUERTO RICO v. AURELIUS INVESTMENT, LLC, 
ET AL. 

CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR 
THE FIRST CIRCUIT 

No. 18–1334.  Argued October 15, 2019—Decided June 1, 2020* 

In 2016, in response to a fiscal crisis in Puerto Rico, Congress invoked its
Article IV power to “make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting 
the Territory . . . belonging to the United States,”  §3, cl. 2, to enact the 
Puerto  Rico  Oversight,  Management,  and  Economic  Stability  Act 
(PROMESA).  PROMESA created a Financial Oversight and Manage-
ment Board, whose seven voting members are to be appointed by the
President without the Senate’s advice and consent.  Congress author-
ized  the  Board  to  file  for  bankruptcy  on  behalf  of  Puerto  Rico  or  its 
instrumentalities,  to  supervise  and  modify  Puerto  Rico’s  laws  and
budget, and to gather evidence and conduct investigations in support
of these efforts. 

After  President  Obama  selected  the  Board’s  members,  the  Board 
filed bankruptcy petitions on behalf of the Commonwealth and five of 
its entities.  Both court and Board had decided a number of matters 
when several creditors moved to dismiss the proceedings on the ground 
that the Board members’ selection violated the Constitution’s Appoint-
ments Clause, which says that the President “shall nominate, and by 

—————— 

* Together with No. 18–1475, Aurelius Investment, LLC, et al. v. Com-
monwealth of Puerto Rico et al., No. 18–1496, Official Committee of Un-
secured Creditors of All Title III Debtors Other Than COFINA v. Aurelius 
Investment, LLC, et al., No. 18–1514,  United States v. Aurelius Invest-
ment, LLC, et al., and No. 18–1521, Unión de Trabajadores de la Indus-
tria  Elećtrica  y  Riego,  Inc.  v.  Financial  Oversight  and  Management 
Board for Puerto Rico et al., also on certiorari to the same court.