Justices to Consider Unconstitutional Bankruptcy Fee Refunds

The US Supreme Court will consider a Justice Department request to provide a nationwide remedy for fees charged to Chapter 11 debtors that the justices last year found unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court’s Friday decision to consider the Office of the US Trustee v. John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts case allows the justices to address disparate quarterly bankruptcy fees that were charged to mostly corporate debtors across the country.

At stake is the question of whether an estimated $326 million in fees should go back to debtors or stay with the US Trustee’s office, which serves as the Justice Department’s ...