U.S. Bancorp Mortgage Co. v. Bonner Mall Partnership

Summary

Justice Scalia delivered the unanimous opinion of the Court. The Court held that Article III permits an appellate court to consider vacatur after a case becomes moot, but settlement-induced mootness ordinarily does not justify vacating the judgment under review. A losing party that voluntarily settles abandons appellate review and generally forfeits its equitable claim to vacatur; judicial precedents also serve public interests beyond those of the settling parties. Exceptional circumstances may justify vacatur, but an agreement providing for vacatur is not itself exceptional. The Court denied Bancorp’s motion to vacate the Ninth Circuit’s judgment and dismissed the case as moot. It did not decide whether the Bankruptcy Code recognizes a new value exception to the absolute priority rule. There were no separate opinions.