Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/20pdf/19-357_6k47.pdf
Page Number: 6

4 

CHICAGO v. FULTON 

Opinion of the Court 

Dictionary, at 892.  The suggestion conveyed by the combi-
nation of these terms is that §362(a)(3) halts any affirma-
tive act that would alter the status quo as of the time of the 
filing of a bankruptcy petition. 

We do not maintain that these terms definitively rule out
the  alternative  interpretation  adopted  by  the  court  below 
and advocated by respondents.  As respondents point out,
omissions can qualify as “acts” in certain contexts, and the
term “ ‘control’ ” can mean “ ‘to have power over.’ ”  Thomp-
son v. General Motors Acceptance Corp., 566 F. 3d 699, 702 
(CA7 2009) (quoting Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Diction-
ary 272 (11th ed. 2003)).  But saying that a person engages 
in an “act” to “exercise” his or her power over a thing com-
municates more than merely “having” that power.  Thus the 
language  of  §362(a)(3)  implies  that  something  more  than 
merely retaining power is required to violate the disputed 
provision.

Any ambiguity in the text of §362(a)(3) is resolved decid-
edly in the City’s favor by the existence of a separate provi-
sion,  §542,  that  expressly  governs  the  turnover  of  estate 
property.  Section 542(a), with two exceptions, provides as 
follows: 

“[A]n entity, other than a custodian, in possession, cus-
tody,  or  control,  during  the  case,  of  property  that  the
trustee may use, sell, or lease under section 363 of this 
title, or that the debtor may exempt under section 522
of this title, shall deliver to the trustee, and account for, 
such property or the value of such property, unless such 
property  is  of  inconsequential  value  or  benefit  to  the 
estate.” 

The exceptions to §542(a) shield (1) transfers of estate prop-
erty made from one entity to another in good faith without 
notice or knowledge of the bankruptcy petition and (2) good-
faith transfers to satisfy certain life insurance obligations.